All's Fair
by rocketgod123
Summary: Annabeth Chase just wants to get through her senior year at her new school. So having to spend time with Percy Jackson, star of the school and massive jerk, is a bad thing, right? But what Annabeth doesn't know is Percy, like everything in this school, is full of mysteries and secrets: and as Annabeth is about to find out, all's fair in love and war. Percabeth, Mortal AU.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys! This is my new story, All's Fair.**

 **Some things to note: It's a Mortal AU, so there are no gods or anything in this- they're just regular mortals.**

 **It is a Percabeth story, but Percy may seem slightly OOC in the beginning. That's part of the story. There is a reason why I've made him like that, and it will progress with the plot.**

 **I'm excited for this story, and I hope you enjoy it. As ever, read, enjoy, and review!**

 **PS. It will change in POV, but the character who's narrating will be in the title for that segment.**

* * *

 **Annabeth**

Right now, I wasn't sure how I felt.

My head was a terrifying mix of nervousness and excitement, and with it, the over-riding horror that always comes at the prospect of a first day at a new school.

 _It's ok_ , I told myself, _you know people there. Stop worrying, and now get ready._

By the I had taken a shower and gotten dressed, Helen had started calling me.

"There you are," Helen said, packing Bobby's lunch box. "You're going to be late. Here, eat your cereal quickly."

I shovelled a spoon of Weetabix in my mouth, swallowing it down. "Where's Dad?"

"He's already set off, and he's taken Malcolm too, to look for a work experience placement," Helen explained, as Bobby and Matthew rushed into the kitchen.

I watched as my stepmother helped her sons into their seats, and gave them their breakfast. At first, soon after my father married her when I was eight, and Malcolm was ten, I had intensely disliked the woman. I didn't like the fact that she seemed to be replacing my mother after the divorce. But after some time, I came to accept it, even started liking her. What had started off as a rocky relationship at best had settled down into something bearable, even amicable.

"I better be going," I told her, as I said goodbye to Helen and her younger brothers. Helen wished me luck, before I set off.

The walk wasn't too long, around ten minutes. It was weird to be back in New York. Sure, I'd visited in the last few years, to see my mom and some of my friends, but I was used to living in San Francisco. New York was busy, but I liked that. I liked this city, buzzing and alive, even on a cold winter morning.

I was so caught up in thinking, I was distracted from my mixed emotions- and the time. School was about to begin.

I nearly had to run, but I was still late. Homeroom would nearly have started, and I had to visit the school secretary first. I entered through the school gates, into the courtyard. A few late students were ambling in. I saw some people giving me looks, including a girl who was dressed in a tight scarlet dress. She sneered at me, as the girl next to her chattered.

"And so Zoe told him that- Drew, are you even listening?"

The girl gave one last glare to me, before turning round. "Yes, I'm listening to you," she sighed, "so what did Zoe say to Michael?" I didn't understand what her problem was, and why she seemed to dislike me, but I ignored her. I was used to girls like her, and I tended to ignore them.

Shaking all such thoughts from my mind, I took a deep breath, and ascended the steps into Goode High.

 **Percy**

I slammed shut my locker, as I slung my backpack over my shoulder. First day of a new week of school was never great, but today particularly sucked.

Jason nudged me. "Look who's here," he smirked, nodding his head in the other direction.

Walking down the hallway was Drew Tanaka, dressed in a red dress, lipstick smeared over mouth. She was one of the 'popular girls' and a cheerleader, feared by a significant proportion of the school.

Oh, and my current girlfriend.

"Hey, Percy," she smiled. "So, listen, are you free today?"

I silently thanked Grover in his head for inviting me round. "Actually, no. I'm going over to Grover's house."

Drew pouted. "Shame. Some time next week, then."

I nodded unenthusiastically. "Yeah, sure."

I glared at Jason as Drew walked away. "Don't even think about laughing."

Don't get me wrong, I liked Drew, and boy was she good looking. But I had only started going out with her last week, and she was starting to get annoying.

"If he doesn't, I will." I spun round to see Thalia, Jason's twin sister. "Why Drew anyway? Even Olivia was better than her." Olivia was my last girlfriend, and Thalia hadn't exactly got on well with her. I'd gone out with her for a couple of months, which was actually pretty long considering my track record.

As I looked at Thalia, I realised she was dressed in sleek black clothes.

"Did you happen to take a walk through Nico's closet?" Jason asked, but she just stuck her tongue out in reply.

"Speaking of Nico, has he asked you out yet? I notice you're wearing a bracelet. Perhaps a gift from a lover?" I asked, smirking.

Thalia gagged. "Shut it, Kelp Head." I should explain the nicknames. I was captain of the swim team, and pretty much loved being in the water all round. Cue all my friends to come up with cringe worthy nicknames. "The bracelet was one my friend gave me, years ago," Thalia continued. "I figured I'd wear it, you know, since she's coming here today!"

"Wait, what?" I asked.

"Yup, she messaged me last week. We used to go to school together, before she moved to San Francisco. Turns out her father's moving them back to New York, and she's coming here!"

Jason looked at her. "Wait, which friend is this?"

"Don't you remember? Her name's Annabeth Chase."

 **Annabeth**

I looked at the piece of paper in my hand, my timetable, as I walked out of the secretary's office.

I had homeroom now, but I had no idea where that was. Suddenly, I saw a boy running through the hallway. He looked like he was a senior too, and he had curly brown hair. He ran with a slight limp.

I knew him.

"Grover!" I said excitedly.

Grover turned around, and his eyes widened when he saw me. "Annabeth?" He rushed forward to hug me. "What on earth are you doing here?"

"I transferred here." I smiled at my friend. We had gone to school together back when we were ten, when my dad had decided to move his job, and all of us with it, to 'Frisco.

"Why didn't you tell me you were coming?" Grover asked.

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Though I cracked, and told Thalia."

Grover shook his head in awe. "I can't wait for you to meet everyone. What d'you have now?"

I checked my timetable. "Homeroom with Mr. Blofis."

Grover's eyes lit up. "Me too. C'mon, we're late." He took me by the arm and half dragged me through the halls. Soon we were entering an English classroom.

"Sorry we're late, Mr. Blofis. Traffic."

"That's ok, Grover, you can sit down. And who's this?" The teacher was tall, with thick salt and pepper hair.

"Annabeth Chase. I just transferred here." I scanned the room while I spoke. My eyes went past Grover, who had sat down next to a black haired guy, with sea green eyes. He was looking at me intently. For some weird reason, I wanted to stare right back, as if he was challenging me. I didn't like to back down from a challenge, but my eyes moved past him, when I saw Jason, smiling at me, and next to him, my best friend. Thalia was grinning, waving at me. I saw she was wearing the bracelet I had given her back when we were younger. The sadness of losing mine during the move hit me again.

"Ah, yes, Annabeth. Welcome to Goode. You can take the spare seat- well, there's one next to Grover. You can sit there."

I sat down, and put my bag on the floor.

It was official. I was now a student at Goode High. Ten minutes into my first day, and so far it wasn't going too badly.

I just hoped it would stay that way- but knowing my luck, it probably wouldn't.

I only wish I'd prepared myself for what was coming.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that :) That was mainly an introductory chapter, so we were switching POV's round a bit. In the next chapter, Annabeth and Percy will properly meet.**

 **As you can see, Percy's character is different. Don't try and call me out for writing him like that, that's part of the story. We will see his character develop like any as the story moves on.**

 **Hopefully the next chapter will be updated very soon, within the next week for sure. That's all for now- before you go, please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey guys! First off, thanks for the reviews!**

 **Guest: Yup, don't worry, you'll get the bonding between those people definitely. And I'd be more than happy to check out your story!**

 **Aphrodite in Disguise: Thanks, I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter :)**

 **Demigoddess13: Haha, very true... And many mysteries are in store, definitely.**

 **I hope you enjoy chapter 2... Read and review!**

* * *

Chapter 2

 **Percy**

I couldn't help but think that Annabeth seemed… different. Sure, she was great looking, with wavy blonde hair that fell down in princess curls to her shoulders, but that wasn't what intrigued me. It was her eyes that captured me the most. They were stormy grey, and had a strong fierceness in them that told you the owner was not to be messed with.

After my step-dad had finished talking, (yes, Mr. Blofis is my step-dad. Let's not get into that right now.) the bell rung. Annabeth had immediately hugged Thalia before embracing Jason. Straight away she and Thalia started talking.

"Annie, it's so good to see you!"

"Don't call me Annie, but yes, Thals, it's good to see you too."

I looked at Grover. "Explain to me how you all know her?" I asked, as we moved out of the classroom.

"She went to our old school, before she had to move to San Francisco."

The pieces clicked in my head. Annabeth did have a Californian tan. "What's she like?"

Grover smiled mysteriously. "Why don't you find out for yourself?"

I grinned crookedly. "I'll take you up on that deal."

Grover quickly realised what that meant. He sighed. "Perce, seriously, when are you gonna stop doing this? It's been over a year since…" I glared at him. He quickly backtracked. "I'm just saying, play nice."

I smirked. "Too late."

 **Annabeth**

We had only just got out of the classroom, when he walked up to us.

He was tall, and dressed in a blue shirt and jeans, as well as a leather jacket. He had messy black hair as if he had just got out of bed, but it worked on him. His green eyes sparkled (and when I said green, I meant a really nice shade of sea green). Jason smiled at him.

"Annabeth, this is Percy Jackson. Percy, Annabeth Chase." Before I could say anything, like hi, he winked at me.

"I've gotta ask- did you move from San Francisco, or heaven?"

Jason rolled his eyes, but Thalia snorted. "Leave her alone, Kelp Head. She's not interested. And next time, you might want to think of something else."

As she dragged me away, I was finally able to react.

"What a jerk! The first thing he does when he meets me is hit on me?"

Thalia smiled. "Yes, that is my cousin." I stared at her. "Don't worry, that's just how he is. He can be a bit much at first, but he's actually a good guy. It just takes time to see it."

Of course, it didn't take me long to realise that Percy Jackson was the player of Goode High.

* * *

The morning went pretty uneventfully. I had advanced math first, with Mr. Bing. I didn't recognize anyone in the class, so I sat near the front next to some guy called Matt Dyson. He was tall, with shaggy brown hair. He was a bit shy at first, but I liked him.

At break, Matt directed me to my next lesson, Classics. Still, between trying to find my way, and losing time while catching up with Thalia, somehow I was late.

Cursing to myself under my breath (hey, I took school seriously) I pushed open the door.

At the front of the class was a thin, blonde woman, who looked at me.

"You are the new student?" I nodded. "You're late."

"Sorry, Ms…" I tried to remember her name, before it came to me, "Dodds, but I got lost."

She looked at me for a second, before scowling. "Very well. Since it is your first day, I'll let it pass. Don't allow it to happen again."

Thanking her, I made my way to the only free seat in the class, at the back. I was halfway there, before I realised who I'd be sitting next to.

Reluctantly, I put my bag down, and sat next to Percy Jackson. He smirked at me.

"You seem to be getting lost an awful lot. You need someone to show you around? 'Cause I'd be happy to help."

"You know, I think I'll be okay," I retorted sarcastically. Maybe I was being a bit quick to judge, but this guy had rubbed on me the wrong way. First impressions matter, and this guy had made the wrong one. Despite what Thalia said, I could peg what kind of guy this one was, and I would stay away.

Somehow, I managed to make it through Classics, ignoring Percy the whole way through. Once the lesson had ended, I walked out of the classroom. Percy caught up with me.

"Don't worry, Chase, I'll help you find the lunch hall." I gritted my teeth, amazed at how one person could be so infuriating.

By a stroke of luck, Percy was tackled on the way here. A pretty Asian girl, with blonde highlights in her hair, launched herself on him. I recognised her from the school gates- the one who had glared at me.

"Percy!" she said in a high voice. I almost started cracking up, when the pair started making out. I smirked, before turning away.

I did manage to find the lunch hall on my own, and after getting my lunch of pasta, I looked for a table. I spotted Jason sitting with a few people, and I made my way towards his table.

He smiled at me as I sat down. He had his arm around a pretty brunette. "Hey Annabeth. How's your day going?"

"Mostly good," I told him.

"Oh yeah, I have to introduce you. This is Piper, my girlfriend," that was the brunette, who smiled at me, "Reyna," Reyna, a tall girl with brown hair tied into a braid, nodded at me, "Frank, Nico and Leo," Jason gestured to a muscular Chinese kid, a shorter, goth-looking guy, and an impish looking Latino guy with dark curly hair, "and Hazel." Hazel, a small, African-American girl, with golden eyes, waved at me.

As we talked, Thalia and Grover joined us. Conversation followed, until Percy sat down too.

"You're later than usual, Perce," Nico noticed.

"Yeah, sorry. I got, ahem, caught up by Drew."

Jason smirked. I looked at Percy curiously. I knew he was Thalia and Jason's cousin, but I hadn't realised he was in their friend group.

This was just great.

I looked around the dining hall. It was buzzing with people, the chatter filling the hall. "It's a big school," I commented.

"Well, it should be," Grover smiled. "It's actually two schools."

Jason explained. "You see there were two schools, Jupiter Academy and Half-Blood High. But, there was a fire at Jupiter Academy, and since both schools weren't too big, they merged, using this new campus."

"So which school are you guys from?"

"Grover, Percy, Piper, Leo and I all were at Half-Blood High," Thalia explained.

"Jason, Frank, Hazel and I were Romans," Reyna finished. "Romans is what everyone called people at Jupiter Academy, and the Greeks were at Half-Blood High. There was kind of a rivalry going on."

I made a mental note of that in my head.

A minute later, a girl arrived, and sat down. The table was nearly full now. The girl had long caramel hair, and kind almond eyes. She took the place next to me.

"Annabeth, right?" I nodded. "I'm Calypso." I smiled at her.

"What took you so long, Callie?" Piper asked. Calypso blushed.

"Lost track of time, I just had biology, and we were studying plant life, and I asked my teacher what she thought was the most versatile plant, and would you believe, she said the Siberian Elm. She completely forgot about grass!"

Frank laughed. "Calypso's completely mad about flowers and plants," he explained to me.

"The word is botany! But yes, it's true. I can't wait for gardening after lunch!"

"You took gardening as your elective? Me too," Piper said, looking glum. "Mum made me."

"I'm doing mechanics." Leo grinned. "What about you, Annabeth?"

"Architecture," I told the table.

"Me too!" The dark haired girl, Reyna, said. "But only for now, till Mr. Brunner comes back and I can do History of War. Architecture's just my temp."

"I'm switching to History of War too, but I'm doing meteorology for now. Percy, what about you?" Jason asked. "Marine biology," Percy said, between massive bites of his pizza. Thalia rolled her eyes.

"Of course Kelp Head would do that."

"Kelp Head?" I asked, looking at her.

"It's what we call him, since he has water in his brain."

"Hey!" Percy said defensively. "You're looking at Captain of the swim team, so yes I'd do Marine Biology." He looked at me and winked. "But if I'd known you were doing Architecture, then I would've signed up too."

I stared at him in disgust, and Piper whacked him on the arm, as there was a collective groan on the table.

Before I could respond, Ms. Dodds came over to our table. "This table has far too many people on it! Safety hazard! Half of you move over there."

Grateful for an opportunity to get away from Percy, I stood up. The girls went to the other table. As we sat down, Reyna looked at me sympathetically.

"Sorry about that," she said.

I scowled. "Why d'you hang out with that jerk?"

"He's a good guy, really," Hazel said. "Trust me, it's just how he seems."

"He used to be fine," Piper said, "nicest guy you'd ever meet. But what happened last year… well, long story short, this year he changed. Quickly gained a reputation for being like that."

Thalia sighed. "We're hoping it's just a phase, and that it'll stop, 'cause he's actually a great guy. Just since what happened, he's been different. It's not as bad when he's around us, but still…"

"What happened before summer to him?" I asked curiously. They all exchanged looks.

"It's not our place to tell you, Annabeth," Calypso said gently. "But, knowing our school, you'll probably find out soon enough."

And with that, the discussion was over. I didn't push it, but sure enough, I was curious. What had happened to him?

Just what exactly was the deal with Percy Jackson?

* * *

The afternoon went better. I loved Architecture, and I liked Reyna too. Miss Thina was a great teacher, and we spent the whole afternoon discussing columns, which might not sound fun, but trust me, it was.

"So what's the deal?" Reyna asked me. When I looked at her, she explained. "How come you like architecture so much?"

"Well, for starters, my mum owns a massive architecture company. I guess, since a young age, it's been the thing I've been interested in, you know?"

Reyna nodded in understanding. "I get it."

The lesson moved quickly, and the next one I had was English. Thalia, Piper, Leo and Nico were all in that lesson, so it was pretty enjoyable. Piper was great, and I had a feeling I'd just made a good friend for myself.

At the end of the day, we left the classroom quickly. The halls were buzzing. As we went down the main steps, we bumped into Grover, and surprise, surprise, next to him was Percy. He grinned at me. I glared at him.

Grover smiled at us cheerfully. "Oh, hey guys. Annabeth, how was your first day?"

Before I could respond, a girl appeared out of nowhere. Barbie doll would be a more accurate description. She smiled at Percy.

"Hey, Percy, wanna come over to mine?" Her expression was so sickening I wanted to puke. Thalia pretended to shoot herself, and Piper had to cover a giggle.

Percy winked at her. "I'd love to, but I'm busy. Maybe some other time, as long as you're willing to have a good time?"

She giggled, her carefully pedicured hand on Percy's jacket sleeve. "Yeah, definitely!" she said, before being dragged off by a friend.

"Aren't you in a relationship?" I asked him. He shrugged. I looked away in disgust.

Grover broke the silence. "Annabeth, how are you getting home?"

"Walking, it's not too far," I told him.

His eyes lit up. "Hey, wanna come over to mine? Percy's coming too," he said enthusiastically.

"Sorry, Grover, Helen wants help unpacking," I said apologetically. I could've sworn I saw disappointment on Percy's face. I turned away, knowing I had probably imagined it.

As I was walking home, I replayed the day in my head. It had been a lot better than I had expected, but one thing still didn't make sense.

I remembered what Thalia has said at lunch. Since what happened, he's been different. He's not actually a bad guy…

Why was I putting so much thought into it? I shook myself out of it. Percy Jackson was just some jerk, who hopefully I would never have to spend some more time with. I continued walking, telling myself that was the end of the matter.

Oh, little did I know, just how wrong I was.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that! So Percy and Annabeth met, and, inevitably, it didn't go well. What do you think happened to Percy?**

 **Next chapter should be posted soon as well, by the end of the week definitely. Before you go, please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey guys, here is the next chapter :) thanks for the reviews, some of you made good guesses!**

 **Baklava Icecream: Nice guess! But you'll have to wait to find out... ;)**

 **Demigoddess13: Thanks, I couldn't resist just slipping the whole Roman/Greek thing in there :p**

 **Infinityworlds: This doesn't really stick to the books. You might see some themes or events being similar, but it isn't a parallel storyline of such. But you will see references and themes, like any AU.**

 **If you reviewed, you're awesome :) I won't waste any more of your time with this a/n- enjoy the chapter, and please review- they're the best :)**

* * *

Chapter 3

 **Percy**

I glided through the water, the echoing voices not reaching my ears. The smooth, cool liquid rushed past my face, as I focused all my attention into swimming.

I have to admit- as much as my friends liked to make fun of me about it; swimming was my favourite time of the day. It was the only time I could really be myself, and not have to project my image, and guard myself. It was time when I could forget about everything, all the complicated stuff that was happening, forget about the past.

Reluctantly, I surfaced. Coach Davis grinned at me. "Good job, Jackson. If you keep up the work, the championships should be ours, no problem. You're good to go."

I started to towel his hair as I walked to the changing rooms. I had been slightly late to arrive, so I was the last to leave. I quickly dried myself using the towel, before throwing on my t-shirt and jeans. I scrambled out into the corridor.

Swimming practise took place every Tuesday morning and Thursday after-school. It was still relatively early, but more and more people were entering the school. I spotted Leo.

"Hey man." Leo put a finger to his lips, signalling for me to be silent. I looked at him, perplexed.

He held a tube in his hand, and was squeezing something into a plastic bag inside a locker, through the locker vents. The bag was attached to some wiring, but I couldn't see the rest.

Once Leo had finished, he smiled triumphantly, before shoving the tube in his pocket, and grabbing me, hurrying away.

I sighed. "What was that all about?" I already had my suspicions. "Wasn't that Clarisse's locker?"

He nodded gleefully. "Yep. When she opens the locker, bam, the cream explodes in her face."

"And if they find out it was you?"

Leo shrugged. "She'll never catch me anyway."

I rolled my eyes, but I was suppressing a grin. Clarisse was kind of a jerk, but not only was she the only girl on the wrestling team; she was the captain of it. She was scary.

"How was swimming practise?" he asked me, as we walked over to his locker, where Frank and Hazel were. "Did the captain give a good impression?"

"He was good," a voice called out. I saw it was Matt Dyson (I know right, who's surname is named after a vacuum cleaner? Poor him). Matt had brown hair, and was fairly tall. Oh, also, apart from being extremely clever, he was on the swim team.

Frank clapped me on the back. "Seems like you've gained the approval of your peers, Perce. Congratulations, I know it was a tense time for you." I glared at him as Matt, Hazel and Leo cracked up.

Suddenly the bell rang, signalling we had to go to homeroom. I groaned. It wasn't exactly a secret that I disliked school, and Hazel smiled sympathetically at me.

I slid my backpack further onto my shoulder, as I made my way to homeroom.

* * *

Tuesday was not my day. After homeroom was spent getting in trouble for talking to Jason, I had English. Annabeth was in that class, and I winked at her. She ignored me.

I don't know what it was about her, but there was something different about her. And I found it really fun to annoy her.

Unfortunately, after that, I had physics. I sat next to Hazel. Mrs. Cooper started droning on about Newton's third law. I nearly fell asleep, but the bell jolted me out of it. I was ready to get out of there, but unfortunately, Mrs. Cooper called me back.

"Uh, Mr. Jackson, a word please?" Hazel looked at me wide-eyed, and I smiled at her reassuringly. I approached the teacher.

"Yes, Mrs. Cooper?"

She smiled at me. "Mr. Jackson, I know it's only halfway through the semester, but it's clear you struggle to pay attention and do work in this class, and from what I hear, it's similar in other classes. Yes?"

I was slightly taken aback, but nodded.

Mrs. Cooper continued. "I am aware that Mrs. Jones has sent you the referral letter, but you are going today to the centre yes?" I nodded. Mrs. Jones was the school secretary. "I just wanted to tell you Mr. Jackson, I know it may be annoying, but don't rule it out. Take it seriously. It could really be a help to you, especially with college applications coming up. Remember that. That's all. I don't want to keep you from lunch for too long." I thanked her, before speeding off. Where did all that come from? I hadn't even realised that she had known about what I was going to do.

I pushed that whole meeting to the back of my mind, as I sat down at the lunch table. I looked around. "Where is everyone?"

"Thalia and Hazel have already left, since they're showing Annabeth the library, and Grover and Calypso have been held back by their gardening teacher, since she wants to start a club," Reyna explained.

"Who would go to that?" I laughed.

Jason smirked. "Leo would."

"Why would I go to it?" Leo asked indignantly.

"Because you have a crush on Calypso." Piper smiled.

"I do not have a crush on Calypso! Why on earth would you think that?" Leo said, outraged.

"Because you do," Frank said, as if it was obvious.

* * *

I was walking through the corridor, when I heard it.

"Hey, Jackson! The classroom is over here."

I spun around. "Why d'you change it?" I asked.

Luke Castellan smirked back at me. His blond hair cast a shadow over his face, and he was dressed in his football jersey. He was surrounded by his football gang.

He shrugged. "Easier."

I snorted. "Easier for you." I walked up to him. "What is it?"

"I think it's time we had a new challenge, don't you?" he said, smirking.

Let me explain. Luke Castellan is the other major player in our year. Every once in a while, Luke likes to mix things up. I wouldn't take part in his dumb games, if not for the fact he found it amusing, and he had something on me. If I didn't play along, lets just say it wouldn't end well for me. And most of the time it's not too bad, anyway, so I avoid trouble and entertain his games.

"What?" I asked, willing to get this over with.

"It's a challenge for you. You have to go out with a girl, a girl of my choosing, and make them fall in love with you. Be their boyfriend, have a relationship. Make them think that the Percy Jackson has changed. And when that girl falls in love with you, I want you to break their heart. End the relationship, stop seeing them. I don't care."

I paused. That seemed like it was taking it a bit too far.

"I'm already in a relationship, with Drew."

Luke snorted. "Yeah, like that's a real relationship. We all know it's just a bit of fun. It's the same like all of your relationships."

Not all, I thought. But Luke was right. My relationship with Drew didn't really mean anything. It was just an escape. But still, breaking someone's heart was a bit too far, even for me. It was all too familiar to me.

Luke seemed to notice the doubt on my face. "Need I remind you what'll happen if you decide to refuse?" he asked, a menacing undertone to his voice.

I scowled, but I knew I was stuck. Luke grinned triumphantly.

I didn't even ask him why he wanted to see me try to break someone's heart. Knowing Luke, he probably just thought it would be fun.

"Now, it's your challenge, but if for some reason you take too long, I will step in. Maybe compete against you, to get this girl. We specially chose her, because we think she should pose more of a challenge."

"Get on with it Luke," I said impatiently. I had to get to the centre, or my mum would be mad. "What's her name?"

Luke smirked. "You may have heard of her? She's new around here. Her name's Annabeth Chase."

* * *

 **Annabeth**

I rushed down the stairs, shoving my phone in my pocket, having just texted Thalia. "Helen, I'm off, or I'll be late!"

"Ok, just be back before dinner," Helen called out. "Oh, and ring dad if you want a lift, he might be able to give you one."

I was out on the street. It was late afternoon now, and the sun was setting. Already I could feel the days getting shorter.

I burst into the revolving doors of the tuition centre. The lady at the front desk smiled at me.

"I'm here for a tutor position? I called earlier. My name's Annabeth Chase."

The woman checked her notebook, before smiling even wider. "Yes of course. Just through those doors there."

My dad had pushed me to become a tutor at the local centre, saying it would help my college application. And to be honest, the idea didn't seem too bad.

I walked through the doors, and was greeted by a woman with ginger hair.

"Annabeth, right?" I nodded. "So glad to meet you! Your credentials were excellent. Here follow me, I'll take you to joining room." I followed her as she talked. "I understand you signed up for a single tutorship? That's fine, most tutors at school still do that. In fact, we have a tutor in your school here, I believe… oh, look there he is!"

Matt was smiling at me. I grinned back at him. After sitting next to him in math, I was starting to like him a lot.

"Annabeth! I didn't know you would be here!" I shrugged, smiling in response.

"Anyway, Annabeth," the ginger woman interrupted, "we have a student for you, they should be arriving soon. He's another person in your year- we find that often works well. Just wait right here."

"So you're a tutor, eh?" I pushed gently into him. He smiled at me.

"Uh, yeah, I am. I'm waiting for Susan, that's my student. We usually have our tutoring sessions in the park, but she's got a cold so we're having it here. Not many of the student tutors do that, it's generally only the professional ones, you know the ones people pay for. Not us volunteers."

Suddenly, the ginger woman walked back in. "Oh, yes, he's here. He's just putting his jacket away, he should be here soon. He wants two sessions a week, so this afternoon you should just work out the where and the when's- oh look, here he is."

Walking into the room was none other than Percy Jackson. I nearly bit my tongue, I couldn't believe my bad luck. For a second I wondered if he was here just because of me, to annoy me, but I changed my mind when his eyes widened when he saw. Honestly, he looked a bit shocked and weary, so I'm guessing he knew as little about this as I did.

Matt grinned at him. "Hey man, look's like Annabeth's your teacher."

Percy smiled, but it wasn't very bold. Then the Percy Jackson I knew emerged. He smirked at me.

"Well, aren't you one lucky tutor."

This was going to be hell.

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 **Please review before you go- it will guarantee a quicker update!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! This was meant to be posted yesterday, but fanfiction was down. Sorry about that.**

 **Thanks for the reviews! Especially CodeNameWiseGirl, and Mehscrewit and CrazyPeopleLikeMe. It was really interesting to hear your thoughts!**

 **The next chapter will hopefully be posted next week- not this week, since I'm quite busy right now, but hopefully my schedule will clear up. Enjoy the chapter, and please review!**

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Chapter 4

 **Annabeth**

I stuffed my books in my bag, before slinging it onto my shoulder, munching on a breakfast bar. It would still be another twenty minutes before Dad and Helen woke up, and then the rest of the house another half an hour after that. I was up nearly an hour early for this, and I tended to get to school early anyway.

I passed Malcolm's room, but paused, as I looked through the open doorframe. My brother, a year older than me, was stretching in his pajamas. His dark blonde hair was messy, and he yawned.

"What are you doing up, sis?" He asked me, as I entered his room, curious.

"I could ask you the same question. I've got tuition."

Malcolm pulled a face. "And you're doing it _now_?" I nodded.

"Yeah, Wednesday mornings and Monday afternoons. Those were the selected times."

Malcolm smirked. "Sucks for you. I couldn't sleep, so I figured I may as well use the time to do some prep before my first day."

"So you're definitely doing it, then, at mom's?" Malcolm nodded.

My mother owned a massive architect company in central New York, Athenian Architects. Malcolm was going to do an internship there, not that he was that interested in Architecture, despite the fact it was in his blood. No, Malcolm was a tech genius, and the opportunity was for him to operate the software and ICT at a major company. There were talks going on about whether Malcolm would stay with mom in her penthouse suite during it.

We rarely saw our mom. She was a busy woman, and we tended to only see her during holidays. I had never really talked to her, and it doesn't help I have only vague memories of the time before my parent's divorce.

"Well, I gotta go." I wished him luck, before making my way towards the park.

As I approached, I made my way through the light green of the park. It was pleasant in the crisp air of the morning, and there were just a few people about- early joggers and elderly people taking a morning stroll.

I saw the table we had agreed to meet. Percy was already sitting there, running a hand through his black hair. He was wearing a grey hoodie.

I went up to him, not greeting him. I took out my books, and slammed them on the table. He grinned at me.

"So, Chase, you ready to start? This is going to be a revolutionary experience for you."

I glared at him with such intensity that he moved under my gaze, his expression uncomfortable.

"No, I'm not ready to start yet. Look, I don't care how you act in school or anywhere else, but while I'm tutoring you, you will not flirt, you will not try and be the player you are in school, got it?" I scowled at him as I sat down. He looked taken aback.

"Okay," he said simply after a seconds pause.

"No, that's not- wait, what?"

He smiled at my confused response. I hadn't expected it to be this easy. I hadn't thought he was just going to _agree_.

He shrugged. "Yeah, fine. I need to learn, so I guess it would be possible for me to turn my hotness off during these sessions. I get it, it must be kinda distracting." He raised his hands in defense as I shot a withering look at him. "Sorry, sorry. Please, start to tutor me."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Yeah, okay. So, I understand you need help mainly with math, but also some science."

He shrugged. "Science, not so much, except for physics."

"Yeah, well that's not really a surprise. Math is often considered a science, and physics involves a lot of math, so it'll all help. So, let's start with everyone's favourite." I opened the textbook to the third chapter. "Algebra."

Percy groaned.

* * *

An hour later, and I was walking to school with… Percy Jackson?

Who would've thought?

To be perfectly honest, the tutoring didn't go as bad as I was expecting. Percy kept the flirting to a minimum, but he was still incredibly annoying. And boy, did he not like math. It was a struggle trying to help him understand _anything_ , let alone quadratics.

This job was too difficult for my first tuition experience. I had a feeling I may have bitten off more than I could chew this time.

But Annabeth Chase did not give up.

"Woah, Annabeth, you've got your determined face on," Thalia laughed as Percy and I walked up the steps of Goode High. She was leaning against the wall. "What happened? Wait a minute…" Thalia narrowed her eyes. "Did you guys just walk into school _together_? What's up with that?"

I saw Percy open his mouth to speak, but I quickly answered before him. "Oh, we just met outside the gates. Don't be getting any funny ideas now, Thals." Thalia just shrugged as we walked through the halls. I ignored the funny look Percy was giving me right now. I didn't want anyone to know about this tuition, not yet at least.

Gods, third day in and already I was keeping secrets.

We walked through the main hall, passing a bunch of students at their lockers. Suddenly, I caught a glimpse of blonde hair, and a flash of a thin scar.

" _Luke_?" I asked.

"Annabeth?" He grinned, rushing over to me, enveloping me in a hug.

He hadn't changed much since the last time I had seen him a few years ago, apart from being, well, older. He was still tall and muscular, with a laid back expression and sandy blonde hair.

"How come you're here? I thought you left the school as well a year after me?" I demanded.

"Yeah," he agreed, "but I transferred back a year later. I heard you were here, but I hadn't seen you yet. You've changed so much," he noted.

I shrugged. "Not really."

One of the guys behind Luke, dressed in a football jacket, nudged him. "C'mon Castellan, stop gossiping and let's go."

Luke gave him a look, anger expressed, but nodded. "I'll try and talk to you later, Annabeth." His eyes moved past me, before lingering on Thalia. Thalia looked at him, expressionless, an emotion I couldn't decipher. Luke's eyes moved away from her, not even exchanging a hello, before resting on Percy. "Jackson," he smirked, before walking away with his friends, smiling at me one last time.

I stood there, confused, trying to figure out what was going on. Thalia pulled me by my sleeve. "Come on, let's get to homeroom."

Percy caught up with us. "Chase, how are you so friendly with Castellan?"

Before I had moved to 'Frisco, Luke had gone to the same school as Thalia, Grover and I. The four of us had been close, always hanging out together. I knew Luke had moved school, and I guess I had sort of lost contact him with him. I didn't know he had moved back, and I certainly didn't know he was still here when I transferred.

I looked at Percy, who actually looked worried. I didn't understand that either, but first I had to deal with something else. I turned to Thalia.

"How come you didn't tell me Luke was here?"

Thalia looked torn. "Look, Annabeth- I didn't tell you for a reason."

"Which is?" I asked incredulously.

"He's changed, okay!" Thalia sighed. "Look, Percy, can you let us talk for a few minutes?" Percy hesitated, but nodded. I saw him walk off, only for a girl to walk up to him. Rolling my eyes, I turned back to Thalia. "Look, you know Luke was changing, even before you left," she added, knowing I would agree. Luke had been hanging more and more with the older kids, like Matt Sloan. "Well after you left, for a while it was okay. He still hung out with us, but when he left as well... When he came back after a year, he was different, Annabeth. He started hanging out with the meaner, popular kids, he actually started picking on Grover. We talked a bit at first, but- we just drifted apart." For a second, I could've sworn I saw sadness on Thalia's face, as if she had triggered old memories. "I didn't want to tell you, because he's not worth it anymore," Thalia said finally, but I could tell there was something else she wasn't saying.

I knew Thalia well enough to know when she was keeping something. Most of her story rung true, but Luke had seemed fine a few minutes ago- at least to me. But he and Thalia hadn't even acknowledged each other, and I could tell there was something going on between him and Percy in the aggression and mocking in Luke's tone.

Not that I could blame him for disliking Percy. I figured I'd make my own judgement on Luke- he seemed fine. Maybe he was the Luke I remember, maybe Thalia had just pushed him away.

"You're not angry, are you?" Thalia asked. I looked at her.

"I'm not mad. Come on," I smiled at her, "let's get to homeroom."

I wasn't angry at Thalia, but I knew one thing- I was going to make my own judgement on Luke, and so far it seemed good, despite what Thalia said.

* * *

The rest of the week passed fairly quickly. I only saw Luke briefly again, where he insisted we catch up one time. I talked to Grover about it, but he just said he had had a falling out with Luke, and I told him I understood.

I worked hard in lessons, making sure I caught up with the work I had missed out in the first half of the term. Architecture was easily my favourite. Miss Thina was a good teacher, and Reyna, who sat next to me, while talkative also understood the desire to get on with the designs- something I respected.

On Friday I went to Thalia's house. I almost felt relieved that it was the last day of my first week. Things were way more hectic than I ever could have expected- but it hadn't been a bad week.

I walked from school with Thalia, Jason and Piper. As Piper turned onto her road, she and Jason kissed goodbye, and Thalia made a face. I suppressed laughter.

"So," I said casually, "things are serious between you two?" I asked Jason.

Jason blushed. "Um- I don't know-"

Thalia gagged. "I'm going to walk on the other side of the road as you talk to my brother about his love life."

I smiled, but continued questioning Jason. "Well, you seem to like her." "Yeah," Jason nodded, "Piper's great."

"Well, at least you got over your crush of Gwen Centurius from fourth grade."

Jason shook his head. "Really? Playing the Gwen card?" I shrugged as Jason laughed. "Yeah, well what about your love life Annabeth? Any boyfriends, huh?" Jason nudged me.

"Nope," I said, shaking my head.

"Not even a crush?" Jason asked skeptically. I shook my head.

Jason made a face. "Well now you're not giving me anything to make fun of you," he whined.

"Oh, don't worry," Thalia smirked, having joined our side of the road again, "there's lots of things you can make fun of Annie with. Like her annoying brainy-ness."

I placed a hand on my heart. "Really hitting it where it hurts, Thalia." She smirked, as we turned into their house. Jason fished out a key from his pocket and opened the door.

"Hi guys, how was- oh, Annabeth!" Mrs Grace turned to me. She had glossy dark hair tied in a bun, and her blue eyes shone with kindness. She used to be an actress, but she worked as a fashion marketer now. She crushed me in a hug. "Oh, dear, it's so good to see you!"

"It's great to be back here," I admitted. The Graces' home was basically my second home, and I used to spent most of my time there. Whenever I visited New York I would always come here- I knew Mrs Grace nearly better than I knew my own mom. "Is Mr. Grace here?" I asked.

"He's coming back from work later, he's had a busy day today." Mr Grace was the head of a national company, and as the directing manager, he was usually very busy.

I spent the evening relaxing at their house, before dinner came and I realised I had to go back. I thanked Mrs Grace, before hurrying hone. As I entered the door, I saw Helen in the kitchen.

"Oh, Annabeth, there you are."

"Is dad back?" I asked.

Helen shook her head. "He'll be back later. He's been busy working out stuff for Malcolm, plus he had to work extra today because he's off work tomorrow to spend time with my cousins." I remembered Helen's cousins were coming to visit this weekend. "Oh that reminds me, tomorrow dinner we're all eating here- it's a big affair, so dress nicely."

I nodded, before excusing myself to go upstairs. As I walked, I passed Bobby and Matthew playing Lego, for once in peace as they concentrated in building their tower. Beyond them, I passed Malcolm's room. Malcolm was in there, looking tired, on his laptop.

"Hey," I said softly.

"Hey," he responded. "How was your day?"

"Fine." I frowned. I could tell he was upset about something. "What's wrong? How was the trial day at mom's company?"

Malcolm rubbed his forehead. "I don't really want to talk about it right now. Look, I'm tired, Annabeth. I'll talk to you in the morning, but right now I want to sleep." Malcolm shut the door, leaving me surprised. Malcolm was usually so cheerful- rarely in a grumpy mood.

Matthew appeared from out of his door frame. "Malcolm no want to talk now," he told me.

I ruffled his hair. "I know. Don't worry, he's just upset. You want to show me your Lego?"

After playing with Matthew and Bobby for a bit, I retreated to my room and collapsed on my bed, staring at my brown ceiling.

Were first weeks at school usually this complicated? I guess in some respects I had it easy. I'd found some friends-which wasn't always easy. I'd already known some people there. I'd settled into lessons fairly quickly.

But still... Between seeing your old friend again but having them not talk to another of your old friends, having an older brother who recently decided to become secretive, and having to tutor a guy who could be a jerk...

I was getting a headache just thinking about it.

* * *

 **So Annabeth knows Luke from her past... and what's going on with Malcolm? Leave a prediction in a review!**

 **Like I said, I'm pretty busy right now. Next week is my estimate for an update (and the same goes for Colliding Worlds and my other stories) but, as always, reviews make me write more. They result in a quicker update. Simple as that. So review! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry about the slow update, I've been pretty busy- but the chapter's here now!**

 **Particular thanks to Infinityworld's and Guardian'sDragonsOfDeath for their reviews! Hope you like this chapter!**

 **Won't keep you from reading it any longer- as always, enjoy, and review.**

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Chapter 5

 **Percy**

The sun hit me, seemingly happy that the weekend had arrived. I couldn't blame it if it was- this school week had been long and complicated. And yes, I mean more long and complicated than a normal school week.

I walked home, saying goodbye to the others. Soon it was just Nico and me, since we walked in the same direction. Usually we didn't walk on Fridays- I took the bus a few days of the week- but today I had forgotten my keys and Paul was staying late at school, so I couldn't get in without my mom. Currently she was attending a writing seminar, so she usually reached a half hour after me. I figured walking would waste enough time, and Nico had offered to accompany me.

Nico was my other cousin. He, Jason, Thalia and I were children of three brothers, my dad being the middle child.

"Thanks for offering to walk as well," I smiled at him.

He shrugged easily. "No big deal," he muttered.

Nico was definitely different. If you looked at him, you might peg him as a goth- he had the dark, overhanging hair and the black clothes. He had the whole darkness look (though he stayed clear of tattoos and piercings), but it kinda ran in his family. His father, Hades, ran a funeral business.

Nico was shorter than me, but was muscular. For some reason the whole 'emo vibe' meant some girls in our year pined after him. But mostly, Nico kept to himself. Heck, it took a few years for me to get close to him. His life hasn't exactly been easy. His mother had died early, so he lived with his father and step mother Persephone. And unfortunately, his mum wasn't his only early loss.

I was shaken out of my thoughts.

"You seem distracted. What's wrong?" Nico said suspiciously.

"Just thinking," I responded.

"You were thinking? Something really is wrong," Nico said mockingly. I snorted.

"Thanks for the diagnosis, Dr Doom."

Before I knew it, I had reached my house.

I glanced at my watch. My mom should be home by now. Saying goodbye to Nico, I walked up the driveway and knocked on the door.

"One minute!" I heard someone walk towards the door, and then my mom opened it.

Her long brown hair now had streaks of grey in it, but her kind eyes shone as bright as ever. She hugged me. "Hi, honey."

"Hey," I smiled at her. I walked into the house, dumping my bag by the stairs.

"How come you didn't use your keys?" Sally asked, bustling towards the kitchen.

"Forgot them," I called back. "Where's Tyson?"

"Paul's getting him."

"I though Paul was staying late at school?" I asked, confused.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door. I went to get it, as my mom said, "He was, but it turned out he wasn't needed. This should be him."  
It was. Paul stood at the door, his thick black hair sprinkled with grey. He was thin, and he had a kind but weary smile- especially after a long day at school.

And next to him was Tyson. Tyson was my younger brother, and he was nearly three years old now. I grinned at him, ruffling his hair.

You're probably wondering about my family now, so here are the basics. My mom is awesome. She hasn't always had it easy, but even after everything she's been through she still finds the ability to be loving and helpful.

She met my dad in college, and it had been love at first sight. They'd had a great summer together, but it couldn't last. My dad had back then been situated in California, mom lived in New York. My dad, Poseidon, was mostly likely going to have to marry someone else- he came from a rich business family. They parted ways. Though Poseidon later moved to New York (with his new wife), I still didn't see him that often. Nonetheless, my mom and him were on good terms.

Paul wasn't my first stepfather. At first it had taken some getting used to having him around, but Paul was a nice guy, and he made my mom happy, which was a big plus considering our past. I couldn't complain.

And so, Tyson was born, my half-brother. He was pretty cool, and it was nice to have a sibling around.

"How was your day, buddy?" I asked him.

"Awesome," he said happily, giving a gap-toothed grin.

Sally gave Paul and Tyson a kiss on the cheek, before going back to making dinner. Paul led Tyson to the dining table for him to do his homework, while he did some marking.

"I'm going upstairs, to do some work," I called out.

I made my way to my room. It was cosy, but a complete mess. Clothes were scattered around the room.

I shifted some stuff away to make room on my desk, before sighing and taking out the algebra work Annabeth set me.

Inevitably, within a few minutes my mind had wandered. I thought back, back to the tutoring session, back to meeting Luke in the hallway.

 _Luke?_ She had said, surprised. They had hugged, and talked about him transferring back here after leaving. That much I knew. I had joined the same time as Luke returned, but I knew he had gone to the school previously.

 _Look Percy, can you let us talk for a few minutes?_ Thalia had asked me to leave after Annabeth confronted her. That's when it all got confusing. I hadn't realised Annabeth had been friends with Luke. I knew Thalia had been close to Luke, but I didn't realise it had been a big deal, and I never really put much thought into the fact they didn't talk as much (well, at all) anymore.

But why would I? Luke had been a jerk for nearly all the time I had known him. And what game was he playing? Sure, he was a player, but he never tried it with Thalia, and Annabeth clearly didn't know that about him (though that hadn't stopped her from instantly hating me).

I thought back to my conversation with Grover yesterday, when I had gone to his house. We were playing Mario Kart (don't judge- Grover only has a Wii console, and yes, I admit it, I love that game) as I tried to subtly get information from him.

"You used to be friends with Luke, right?" I asked casually (or at least I what I thought was casual).

Grover shot me a weird sideways look as my character flipped over under a blue shell. "First Annabeth, now you. Why is everyone suddenly talking about my old friendship with Luke?"

"Well, he hugged Annabeth in the hall," I admitted, "and it didn't make sense. Since when was he not a jerk?"

"He used to be okay," Grover told me, eyes still trained on the television screen. "But eventually we just stopped hanging out with him- me and Thalia that is. Annabeth left before he really changed, I guess. What's your interest in the matter, anyway?" He shot back.

"Nothing, nothing," I responded hastily. I didn't want him to find out about the challenge Luke set me. I'm sure Grover had probably figured out some of his challenges in the past, the games Luke liked to play. He probably also guessed Luke had something on me. But this time, I had to keep it from him- Annabeth was one of his oldest friends. Heck, I couldn't let anyone find out.

But his challenge was what it all came down to, really, wasn't it? _You may have heard of her,_ Luke had smirked. _Her name's Annabeth Chase._

 _And when that girl falls in love with you, I want you to break their heart._

Why would Luke ask me to do that? Even if he was faking it with Annabeth, even if he didn't like her anymore, why set me that challenge?

I was shaken by my thoughts from my phone buzzing.

 _Do we have practise tomorrow?_ My phone read, from Matt. I mentally thanked him for reminding me of swimming practise tomorrow. If I missed that Coach would be mad.

Even though I wasn't exactly happy with Coach Davis, considering he was the reason I was in tutoring in the first place.

He had pulled me aside after the finish of one practise. "Look, Jackson," he scratched the back of his neck, "you're our best swimmer, and you're captain. The team needs you this semester, but Mr D has a rule. If you're not doing well enough academically, or not even _well_ , just not, you know, not failing-"

"Coach?" I asked, interrupting his ramblings. "What is it?"

"Well, you're not doing that well in Physics, or Math, for that matter. You need tutoring, or you're off the team, banned from all extra-curricular, until you show you're working on it and demonstrate progress. Sorry kid, but that's the rules. Mr D's allowing you to stay on as long as you get a tutor- I can refer you to the nearby tutor centre." He looked at me apologetically. "They're really good, don't worry, and I'm sure you'll do well, or at least you better, because otherwise…"

And so here I was, sitting on my desk, pen poised over my paper. I stared at the algebraic question, _x_ cubed floating in front of me. I vaguely remembered Annabeth talking about this during out tutoring session.

"Percy," my mom called, "dinner!"

"One sec!" I frowned at the question. I wrote down something, before scribbling it out. What had Annabeth said?

I scowled in frustration. What was the point in doing this? In anger, I snatched up the piece of paper, scrunching it up. In one movement, moving my chair away from my desk, I threw the paper to the corner of my room.

Whatever Annabeth said, I didn't really care. Tutoring homework wasn't my priority. I had enough to deal with right now.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that. We met Percy's family, but what do you think Annabeth's reaction to him not doing the homework will be? Yeah, it was a bit of a filler chapter, but I just wanted to get a chapter out to you guys and so that's why it was a bit short!**

 **Hopefully the next chapter will be within a couple of weeks. It really varies, but I will be trying to get out regular updates. I'm working on the next chapter of Colliding Worlds, so that should be fairly soon. As always, reviews genuinely make me write and post faster. So please, before you go, it doesn't take that much effort, but means a lot- review!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while, but... there's been a lot going on. I tried to get this out to you as quickly as possible. Thanks for all the reviews, but because I'm sure you quickly want to read the chapter... enjoy, and review!**

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Chapter 6

 **Annabeth**

"Annabeth, come down!"

I walked into the hallway, before making my way down the stairs. Sarah and Sophie were in front of me. I was dressed in a yellow dress, the colour of fading custard. Helen had asked me to wear it, since her brother was coming, along with his family.

Sarah and Sophie were my (step) cousins. They were twins, slightly older than me but slightly younger than Malcolm. They had almond eyes and spotless skin, bored expressions on their faces almost all the time- at least, when they were at ours. They were nice enough, but were never really that eager to talk to us. Not that I really minded.

I walked into the living room, to the sight of eight people sitting around the dining table, four empty spaces. The room was full of chatting, and there was roast duck on the table, with cranberry sauce and all the lot.

At the head of the table was my dad. He was pouring wine into his glass absent-mindedly. He had unkempt sandy blonde hair and a Californian tan, tell tale signs of age all over him. My dad and I haven't had the most stable relationship. When I was younger, I used to fight with him all the time, but we'd gotten much closer over the past few years. He was really intelligent, but a bit clumsy, awkward. He was so busy with his work I could sometimes go days without seeing him.

To his right sat Helen and the twins, and then finally Malcolm, looking tired but engaging in conversation with Uncle Harry. Harry sat on my dad's left, sharing many of Helen's features- not too large, carefully poised. Next to him sat Aunt Ruth, a pretty albeit big woman. Max sat next to her, six years old, about the same age as Bobby, kicking him under the table, the pair of them and Matthew grinning as Ruth scolded them.

Harry smiled at me. Ruth called, "Ah there you three are. Sit down, sit down already."

I sat down next to Malcolm, and Sarah and Sophie sat opposite me, leaving an empty seat at the end of the table next to us. Chatting resumed as we reached for our food. Dad and Uncle Harry started talking about job prospects in San Fransisco (Harry was a high flying lawyer there) and Helen and Ruth talked about one of their mutual friends from back before we moved to New York.

"Oh my god, Annabeth," Sarah said excitedly, "guess what? Mark got a new girlfriend! Yes, the Mark who asked you out, then me out! He was cheating on his last one."

See what I mean? Literally nothing in common.

"Nuh uh," Sophie said, "that's not what happened. She found him…"

They got engaged in an enigmatic debate about Mark and his various girlfriends. Even though we were cousins, and went to the same school back in San Fran, we didn't really hang out. We weren't really close, I guess.

Malcolm and I did have another cousin, from our dad's side, but he lived in Boston. I hadn't seen him in a while. **(A/N: Sorry for the interruption, but I couldn't resist the Magnus Chase reference. How many of you have read it?)**

I turned to Malcolm.

"So are you going to tell me what was up with you yesterday?" I asked him.

"What?" He asked, drizzling gravy over his roast potatoes extra slowly.

I raised an eyebrow. He had pretty much told me to get out of his room when I asked him how his day had been after I had come back from the Graces'.

"You know what. What's up with you and mom?"

"It's not that, it's-" he sighed. "It was mom and dad," he admitted.

"What do you mean?" I asked, taken aback.

"The week itself was fine, or at least the work was. I helped with the IT, yeah it was just learning, but later on I'll do more stuff. That was fine. It's just, well, you know mom…"

I wasn't sure if I did though. I hadn't seen her in what, a month? And even then only because we were checking out a house in New York. Usually I saw her every few months or so, maybe with a few phone calls and cards.

But I knew what Malcolm meant. Our mom was crazy intelligent, but she wasn't very… warm, or emotional. She was so focused on work and success, she didn't have any room left for a personal life. Despite all her intelligence, sometimes she couldn't pick up on people's emotions.

"She was treating the whole thing… so offhandly, so casually. I barely even see her when I'm working in the company, and even then she doesn't acknowledge me. I don't want special treatment or anything like that," Malcolm added hastily, "but I thought this could be a chance for us to get to know each other better, for her to be a mother."

I nodded my understanding, as everyone around us on the table remained oblivious, focused on their own conversations.

"Not to mention her and dad fighting all the time while the work was being arranged, like where I was going to stay during the time."

That I could imagine. Mom and dad were always seemingly fighting. "And so where are you staying?"

Malcolm gave me a tired smile. "Next week I move into mom's penthouse. I'll be back here most weekends though."

The words hit me hard. Malcolm was a huge help at home, calming me down, helping me when I got stressed, the only one in the house I could talk to. For him to stay somewhere else for potentially months…

Sometimes I felt like I was an intruder on dad's new family. I looked at him, Helen, Bobby and Matthew, and then Helen's brother, their children, all laughing, me at the end of the table. I didn't really feel a part of that. I was a remnant of my dad's previous life, unwelcome. Malcolm and I both were. And now he would be leaving.

I know it was irrational, but I guess maybe a part of me was slightly jealous of him too. How he would get to spend so much time with mom, when she never seemed to want to spend time with me. How he would leave this house for a glamorous life in _the_ architecture firm in New York.

Aunt Ruth suddenly turned to me. "So, Annabeth, any new boyfriends?"

Sarah and Sophie listened eagerly for a response.

I simply blushed. "Uh, no. Single as a pringle, and I'm not looking for that to change any time soon."

"Oh, that can't be true!" Ruth exclaimed. Helen smiled.

"With Annabeth, I'm sure it is. You'll never meet a student more devoted to her studies…" There conversation turned away from me, and I tuned out.

Suddenly my dad stood up, his wine glass in his hand. "Can I just say, what a pleasure it is to have you here, Ruth, Harry. And Max, Sophie and Sarah of course."

Uncle Harry raised his glass too. "Pleasure to be here. To your new house, and your new life in New York! May you settle in quickly."

As glasses clinked, those words resounded in my head.

* * *

"There you are!" I huffed. "You're late."

Percy grunted as he sat down. We were at the same park bench, the evening sun in the sky, the wind chilly. I tightened my jacket around me.

Monday had been relatively normal, actually. I had got my first assignment back (I had gotten an A+), and had almost forgotten about tutoring in the evening. Quickly remembering due to a reminder on her phone, I myself had been five minutes late, having run all the way from home, only to find my efforts wasted as I had to wait another ten minutes for Percy. Of course, he didn't have to know I had been late as well.

"That's it? No apology, no nothing?" I said scathingly.

"Ok, sorry. Happy?" Percy said sarcastically. "Can we just do this?"

I was slightly taken aback. It wasn't like I knew the guy well, or even liked him, but he seemed out of character. Less cheerful (well, annoying), less outgoing, arrogant, flirty. He seemed to possess the air more of a quiet meanness, which even to me seemed strange.

"Um, ok. You have the work I set you?"

Percy took out a few papers out of his bag. In front of me lay the homework questions, relatively easy compared to the examples I had carefully gone through in out last session, completely blank. Percy hadn't done it.

"This isn't complete," I said stupidly. "You didn't do it."

Percy just shrugged.

That's when I got mad.

"Ok, we have to get one thing straight. You're going to have to start to actually do work, got it?" I said, gritting my teeth.

"Why do you care anyway? You're not being paid to do this," Percy shot back.

"I am your tutor, and why I'm doing that is none of your business! Now I don't care why on earth you decided to get tutoring, but frankly if you're not going to do the work then you can quit right now!" I was practically yelling at that point, attracting some looks from a passerby. "So if you want to quit, I won't stop you. If you won't do the work, that's probably best for both of us. You can go back to however you were before, no tutoring, back to your usual system of you do no work, and nothing happens. Well?"

I took in a breath, my rant coming to end. Percy looked at me, his green eyes widened in surprise. "I don't want to quit," he said slowly.

I sat back down again, not even realizing I had stood up. "Well, then, do the work."

Percy took a pen out, and poised it over the paper. "Sorry," he said finally. I just looked at him.

I sat there as he struggled with the work, crossing pen marks out constantly. He scratched his head. Finally I stepped in. "You have to factorise," I told him. "Remember? Put it in brackets."

Percy smiled, nodding vigorously, getting to work. Ten minutes later, I was checking his work. There were quite a few errors, but it wasn't a disaster. Not completely, at least.

I was marking in silence when Percy spoke up. "Coach Davis made me do this, if I wanted to stay on the team."

"What?" I asked, taken by surprise.

"You said you didn't know why I was doing this. Well I'm not doing well enough academically. If I don't show progress, I'll get kicked off the swim team."

"Oh," I said.

"I guess I just didn't take it seriously enough. But you're right. I want to do well. It was wrong of me not to do it. I really am sorry," he said earnestly.

"It's okay," I respond, surprising myself. I don't forgive easily.

I continued marking his work, but the tension was gone. A few minutes later, I ask, "So you like swimming?"

Percy flashed me a lopsided grin. It was so disarming it momentarily made me forget all about my problems with Percy, who over the past week had proven himself to be a jerk. "Yeah, it's great. I've always loved the water. In fact… I've been meaning to ask… I've got practice Wednesday morning this week, so I'll have to leave early. Thought I should let you know."

I shrugged. "Sure. But this can't become a regular habit, or you'll never make progress. If you spend too much time in the water, you'll get seaweed in your brain. Not that it would make a difference."

Percy laughed. "What?"

I grinned, testing the name, enjoying my wit. "You heard me, Seaweed Brain. What are you going to do?"

Percy's eyebrows scrunched as he thought. "Don't seem so smug… Wise Girl."

I stared at him for a moment, before bursting out laughing. "Seriously," I asked, "that's what you came up with?"

"Yeah," Percy said proudly, "Wise Girl. What are you going to do?"

I groaned, ignoring the buzz in my stomach. Percy was annoying enough even when he wasn't flirting and being a jerk. I had a feeling this would stick.

"Oh, shut up, Seaweed Brain. Now here, do this work."

* * *

 **I gave you a glimpse of what could be Percabeth... what did you think? I felt you deserved a relatively nice chapter, I've got lots of evil things in store ahead. But what do you think? Can Percy and Annabeth be friends?**

 **In other news, I read Magnus Chase and thought it was pretty good, though the style was pretty repetitive at times. Also, what do you guys think of the Trials of Apollo? I'm excited, but I worry it may not be as good, like Blood of Olympus, which I felt wasn't up to usual quality.**

 **So yeah. I am trying to update Colliding Worlds as quickly as possible, I am working on the next chapter.**

 **I will try to update this soon too, but this story isn't getting as many reviews as I would like :( Please, more reviews, means quicker update! So if you want to read, please review!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Here's the next chapter, thanks for all reviews but we didn't get that many :( Please review!**

* * *

Chapter 7

 **Percy**

"Sixty percent." Annabeth made a face.

"I don't understand why you're saying that like it's a bad thing, it's a big improvement!" I protested.

"What, from not even doing the homework?" Annabeth shot back. "Not exactly hard, Seaweed Brain."

I scowled at her.

"Like you would've got full marks," I muttered.

Annabeth sighed. "That's not the point. Look at these mistakes. We went through these type of questions in class, how did you not get them?"

"They're not the same questions," I pointed out.

"They involve the same method!" Annabeth said insistently. "If you had understood it, you should have got full marks on this." She gestured at the paper. "Which means we have to go through it again."

I groaned.

* * *

Ten minutes later, I was doing more sums, carefully this time. Annabeth cleared her throat.

I glanced at her. In the cold air of Wednesday morning, she was wearing a green fleece, her blonde hair messy. She clearly hadn't bothered dealing with it after getting up from bed beyond putting it in a ponytail.

For some reason, I appreciated that. Some girls spent ages in the morning applying make up and stuff, and after spending so much time with Drew, who would rather die than not prepare herself in the morning, I found it refreshing that Annabeth hadn't really bothered.

"What?" I asked. "Don't tell me I'm doing it wrong, I was so sure I'd got it."

"You're doing it fine, Seaweed Brain," I rolled my eyes at that insult, "but don't you have swimming practice now?"

"Swimming practice!" I remembered. I jumped out of my seat. "I'll see you, um, whenever our next tutoring session is, I guess."

"Wait!" Annabeth called. "I, um, well I-" she blushed "I need your phone number. Not for any other reason but we need to be able to contact each other about tutoring sessions," she added hastily.

I grinned. Annabeth was as red as a tomato. "If you wanted my number, you could've just asked, Chase. I would've been more than happy to comply."

She glared at me. "Remember our deal? No flirting in sessions."

"Ah, but technically, the session is now over." I smirked. I pulled out a pen, motioning for her to hold her hand out.

She recoiled. "Are you kidding? I'm not going to let you write your phone number on my hand!"

I shrugged. "Fine, then I guess you won't be able to contact me about these sessions. You won't always see me in school. What a shame. I was so looking forward into giving you my number."

She glared at me, but reluctantly held out her hand while I scribbled my phone number onto it. "I can't believe I have to walk around the whole day with your number on my hand," she moaned.

"Everyone will know you're into me," I grinned.

"I'm not into you!" Annabeth said furiously. "And you have a girlfriend, remember?"

I held back a grimace. I didn't want to tell Annabeth, but Drew wasn't exactly my _girlfriend_. At least, that's not the term I would use.

"Chill, Wise Girl, it's a joke." I stepped back. "Well, I better go. Seeya!" Without waiting to hear her response I made my way to school.

"Jackson, you're late!" Coach barked as I made my way to the pool.

"Sorry, sir," I lowered my voice, "I was, uh, at tutoring." I held back the comment ' _because of you!'_

Coach grunted. "Fine. Good to see you're making an effort, but don't let it happen again. Now get in the pool!"

* * *

Practice itself hadn't been bad. Percy had made some solid times, and Coach had been pleased.

It was afterwards when Percy found trouble.

Being in the water was so much easier than the rest of Percy's life. He was isolated from all of his problems.

During the school day? Not so much.

First in the corridor he had been jumped by Drew, who had tried to initiate an intense makeout session.

"What's the matter?" Drew said bitterly, as Percy shrugged her off.

Truthfully, Percy didn't even know. A couple of weeks ago, he wouldn't have hesitated. Now? Percy felt _guilty_ , which was crazy. And he didn't know why, but everytime Drew tried to kiss him, he just pictured Annabeth.

Weird, right? It must have been because he had just spent the morning with her. It was the only possible reason.

He walked to his locker, and he started opening it, when Jason walked by. Next to him was Ethan. Ethan Nakaruma was on the football team, but he was a jerk, whose favourite hobby was bullying kids in the younger years. Percy didn't like him, but Ethan had a way of sucking up and making himself look like a friendly guy. All the teachers loved him.

Jason said goodbye to Ethan, who he had been talking to, spotting Percy. They did their handshake. "Ugh, I hate that guy. I can't believe so many people don't realise what a jerk he is."

Percy shrugged. "That's just how this school works. Loads of jerks are liked, and people who aren't actually that bad are immediately assumed to be the worst thing since calculus."

"You seem different today," Jason noted, a bit taken aback. "What's up?"

Percy shrugged. "Nothing. I'm fine. Where's Grover?"

"He's coming in late today, remember? He has that wildlife thing." Jason shrugged, as if to say _what can you do?_

"Still going out with Drew?" Jason made a face as Drew's friends walked by, giggling at us. "I'm telling you, she's a new low."

"That's all you've ever said about anyone since Piper," Percy pointed out, scanning the crowded hallway, though he wasn't sure who he was looking for.

"No it's not!" Jason protested.

Percy nodded regretfully. "Hate to tell you man, but your girlfriend is the one in charge." Percy had to hide a grin. Messing with Jason was one of his favourite pastimes.

"Not true!" Jason said, outraged.

"Jason, stop complaining, it's not a bad thing." Silena stood there, clearly having heard the last part of their conversation. "It's a good thing my half-sister has you in line."

Silena Beauregard was Piper (and Drew's) half-sister. Their mom, Aphrodite Dove, was now in her fifth marriage. She was renowned for her inability to settle down, considering she was a world famous model.

Silena was popular, and Percy and Jason were pretty good friends with her. She had dark blonde hair, and summer blue eyes. Sure, she was pretty, but she was going out with Beckendorf, a guy on the wrestling team, who was surprisingly nice.

Jason scowled. "I'm not!"

Silena shrugged. "Anyway, you guys are coming to my party in two weeks, right?"

Jason nodded, but Percy hesitated. He wasn't exactly the keenest on all these parties. They all meant the same thing- pressure on him.

"Oh, come on, Percy," Silena pouted. "You have to come! It'll be the biggest party of the year," Silena promised, " _everyone_ will be there."

"Fine," Percy relented, "I'll mark the date in my calendar."

Silena grinned. "That's so great. See you then!" A subtle look passed across her face. "And are you thinking about bringing a lady? Other than my half-sister I mean," she said, making a face.

"I haven't thought about it," Percy responded coolly.

"I have to set you up with someone- you're not exclusive with Drew, are you?" Silena looked around puzzled, scanning people. "There's Katie- but I heard she has a crush on Connor. I know Leo has an eye on Calypso." Suddenly Annabeth walked by. A burst of electricity passed through Percy's stomach when he saw her, talking to Thalia, but he had no idea why. She passed by, not even noticing them. "Oh, Annabeth's nice," Silena squealed, before deflating. "Oh, but she already has someone's number on her hand, which obviously means she's into them."

Silena didn't even notice Percy's smirk.

 **Luke**

The yard behind the school grounds was hardly glamorous, but for Luke it didn't matter.

He kissed the girl, letting her push him to the wall. The yard was secluded, cut off by a corner, and no one was coming here, not now that school was over, and on a Monday afternoon it was empty.

He let himself loose, waiting the whole day for this time. "You're amazing," he whispered to the girl, looking her in her eyes.

He moved in to kiss the girl again, but she pulled away slightly, hesitating.

"What?" he asked.

"Luke… I-," she paused, trying to think, "I can't keep doing this."

"Why not?" Luke asked, bitterness in his voice.

"Because, Luke!" The girl threw her hands in the air. "We just keep sneaking around, and I don't want to keep doing this."

"You know why we have to," Luke pleaded, "don't let that stop this."

"It's not just that." The girl sighed. "I feel like I don't even know you."

Luke laced his fingers through hers. "What are you talking about? You know me."

"Yeah, I know you here! But you're a completely different person at school!"

This time anger flared in Luke's voice. "We've discussed this—"

"And you said you'd change, but you haven't!" The girl was practically shouting now. "You're a jerk at school, you're a player, and I know Luke, I know you've had it tough, but…"

"But?" Luke pressed.

"I heard you've set another challenge," the girl commented.

"How did you hear that?" Luke demanded.

"It's true, isn't it?" Luke's silence told her everything she had to know. "This is what I mean. I love you, Luke, I do."

"Then let this happen, it will get better, I promise." Luke was practically begging now.

"I wish I could believe you. But I know you're just going to go running back to school, you'll mess about, flirt with girls, and you'll only be you after school when you're alone, and I'm fed up Luke. I can't do this. You're not worth it." There was a cold finality in the girl's voice.

"I'm not worth it?" Luke asked furiously. "Love's not worth it? Fine, then," Luke moved backwards, "I'll grant your wish. I'll go to all those other girls, even though the only one I care about is you. I thought you felt the same way."

"Luke-," the girl said, tiredness in her voice, but Luke was already walking away. She turned around, blinking back tears.

Luke walked, and when he was out of sight started running. He ignored the pain in his chest, the voice screaming in his head to turn around, go back, beg, beg—

But it was better this way anyway. Love was never a good thing. That, Luke knew for sure.

* * *

 **Who do you think this mystery girl is that Luke's with? What do you think is going on there? And what do you think Luke is going to do next?**

 **And what are your predictions for Percy and Annabeth?**

 **I hope you enjoyed that chapter, I'll try to get the next one out to you soon, but as always, please review if you want to read the next chapter, it always makes me write quicker.**

 **As for Colliding Worlds, I can only say that will be updated soon... very soon... Till next time!**

 **PS. The next chapter, which I'm nearly finished with, is my favourite yet. It's the longest so far, and has Percabeth. I'm so excited for it, but if you want to read it soon, please review!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter, but firstly thanks so much if you reviewed!**

 **Guest: You'll have to wait and see... nah, I can tell you the girl's not Annabeth. But other than that, can't say!**

 **Demigoddess13: Thanks, as always, for your review! I love reading them xD And Tratie is now on the list of things for me to include in the story! Jily is awesome, if I have to time I'll try and see if I like Fremione by reading some!**

 **Guys, please review! Whether you want to share predictions, request something in the story, (constructively) criticize, or just want a quicker update, review!**

 **On a side note, I'm pretty excited for this chapter. Hope you like it!**

* * *

Chapter 8

 **Annabeth**

Expectation: My date with Luke would be awesome.

Reality: My date with Luke sucked.

When Luke had asked me two days ago, I admit it, I had been thrilled.

I had been in the hallway, waiting by Thalia's locker. Piper and I were questioning Thalia, who seemed to be in a bad mood today, when Luke had walked up to us.

"Hey, Annabeth." He gave me his trademark easy-going smile. "Listen, I was just wondering, you want to get a cup of coffee some time? Just you and me?" he asked.

"Oh, um, yeah sure, I'd love that. When?" I tried to stop myself from blushing.

"Next Thursday good for you?"

"Sounds perfect," I told him. He grinned at me.

"Well, I'll see you then." Just before walking away, he looked at Piper, before looking at Thalia, a blank look passing between them.

The moment he was out of earshot, Piper squealed. "Annabeth you have a date?"

"I'm not sure if it's a date," I began.

"It definitely is," Piper said, "He totally just asked you out."

"It is," Thalia told me, "Luke asks loads of girls out on dates."

I frowned at her. She turned back to her locker, slamming it shut. I remembered what she had said, how she wasn't friends with Luke anymore.

"Thalia-"

"It's fine," Thalia interrupted me. "He seems fine with you. Maybe he's okay now." Her tone indicated she believed otherwise, but I dropped it.

To be perfectly honest, I was just so happy I had a date with Luke that I didn't want to argue with Thalia.

Now, let me get this straight. I was not some whiny little girl who just waited around to be asked out. But Luke was my first crush ever. He was handsome, he was nice, but he'd never really shown an interest in me. I'd kind of given up, and this had come right out of the blue.

So when next Thursday came, I had prepared myself. I had even styled my hair in the morning in my own pathetic way, and Malcolm wasn't there to make fun of me, which though I was thankful for, made me kind of depressed.

My brother had barely been gone a week, and I already missed him.

Anyway, the whole school day I had been excited. When the bell rung, I waited outside the crowded steps.

Five minutes later, when the crowd had died down, Luke showed up. He was dressed in a polo shirt, his blond hair immaculately gelled back.

He nodded me, and I smiled back. "So where are we going?" I asked him.

"I know a nice little coffee shop I can drive to," he offered. "It's not that close, but it's nice."

"Sure," I agreed.

It only went downhill from there.

His car was dirty, empty pizza boxes in the back, and socks everywhere, with a metallic smell, but I ignored that. I saw a cigarette pack.

"You smoke?" I asked.

Luke shrugged. "Not regularly. Some of my friends do though. I don't mind joining in."

We reached there in about half an hour. Luke hadn't been kidding when he said it wasn't close. The conversation was limited. The moment we had got into the car, Luke had cranked the radio up to some station I didn't even like. Not that he asked.

When we finally reached the coffee shop, I was underwhelmed. It seemed nice, sure, but nothing that great. We could've walked two minutes from school and got to a similar place.

But hey, maybe I was judging too fast, right?

We went inside. It was a fairly nondescript place, with quite a few empty tables. We quickly found seats.

"So," Luke said, after we ordered our coffees, "how are you finding school?"

I shrugged. "It's not been too bad. Goode High is pretty crazy though."

Luke gave a short laugh though. "That it definitely is. But compared to some other schools…" Luke sipped his coffee. "It's definitely something…" He finally said.

"Apparently the headmaster is... well, a bit crazy," I finished lamely.

"Mr. D?" Luke checked. "He doesn't really care about the job, to be honest. It's the deputy, Mr. Brunner, who does most of the work, but he's really serious. Acts like he's been around for thousands of years."

I nodded my understanding.

"How're your parents?" Luke asked, as silence entered the conversation.

For some reason, I felt like I was less on a date and more on a business interview. I had the sudden urge to straighten my hair.

"Same as always," I told him. I didn't say anything else, and he didn't push it.

There was another silence, as I desperately thought of things to say. Before I could speak, Luke started checking his phone, texting someone.

I wanted to take out my phone as well, just to spite him, and show him two could play at this game, but I didn't. Not least because I'd forgotten my phone at home this morning.

"Anyway," Luke said suddenly, "I have to go, my dad wants me home. He's just asked me to go back, he wants to set up the new TV."

"Oh," I said.

"Is it alright if you take the bus back? Only because my house is in the opposite direction to yours," he explained, already standing up.

I blinked. "Oh, um, yeah, sure," I responded. "Well, bye."

He nodded goodbye back before strolling out of the coffee shop, leaving me by myself on our date, which had lasted a grand total of about five minutes.

I blew a strand of hair out of my face as the waitress came over and put the extra large caramel muffin Luke had ordered for himself on the table.

"That's all?" the waitress asked. I nodded.

"Actually, can I just pay now?"

I had to fish out an extra three pounds to pay for Luke's muffin. Luckily, I still had enough for the bus fare home. I tried not to feel bitter about the fact he hadn't even checked, though.

* * *

The bus stop was a ten-minute walk away, which I didn't really mind.

Not until it started raining at least. Just my luck.

I walked in the rain, soaked, trying to find out my bearings. The sidewalks were pretty empty, and I couldn't find anyone to ask.

To say that the date hadn't exactly been the greatest would be an understatement. Not only did I barely get to spend any quality time with Luke, now I was stuck in the rain till I could find the bus stop. I was a good hour, maybe two, away from home. Even by bus, it would be at least half an hour.

Of course, I told myself, that wasn't all Luke's fault. It wasn't his fault he had to go. He hadn't known it was going to be raining.

He was still a nice guy. He was still my crush. At least we'd had a date. Maybe we would have another, I told myself. First dates were bad loads of the time.

After a few minutes, I spotted people. I was about to ask them for directions, before I stopped myself. It was three guys, I would guess my age, walking towards me, faces covered by their hoodies, hand in pockets.

It was New York, but I'd never been mugged or anything like that. I forced myself to stop over reacting.

Until they reached me. For a second I thought they were just going to keep walking. But one of them reached out, grabbing me.

I struggled, but he clamped a hand around my mouth. The road was secluded, and fear raced through me.

Immediately the other two searched my pockets. One of the guys came out with all my remaining money, the other with my keys. They continued searching, but found nothing else. Before they could do anything beyond that, I lashed out, kicking the one holding me.

Instinctively, he let go of me, grunting in pain, and I sprinted down the sidewalk. A car's headlights roared in the distance, and cursing, the guys ran away.

I didn't stop moving for another five minutes. That's when the emotions hit me.

They had taken my money and keys. I wouldn't be able to take the bus and I didn't have my phone. It would take me hours to walk home in the rain, I would probably get pneumonia, and that was on the unlikely basis I could find my way- I had no idea where I was anymore.

I had to stop myself from crying. I needed to find a phone box, call someone. At least I had escaped from them, before it could get worse.

I walked, hoping to see one. As I did, I thought back to what had just happened.

I was certain those people had been _looking_ for something. They continued searching even after they found money. It was like they'd planned the whole thing. That hadn't just been a random mugging.

But it didn't matter now. I'd focus on it later. I spotted a phone box, and hope coursed through me. I entered it, briefly shielding my freezing body from the rain.

Thankfully, I found a couple of quarters on the ground. I entered the first one, and punched in Thalia's number. I had known it from memory since, well, forever.

My heart raced as it rang. "Pick up, Thalia," I muttered. It didn't help. A minute later, the beep sounded.

I smashed the phone back onto the holder, cursing. Thalia wasn't picking up.

I didn't know what my options were. It would be useless calling home, no one would be there right now, and calling dad would just result in him not picking up since he was at work.

I didn't know any other numbers from memory. Well, except for…

In the most bizarre situation of bizarre situations, I found myself typing in Percy Jackson's phone number.

Now, I know what you're thinking. The number had washed off my hand nearly a week ago. I didn't mean to memorize it, but after being on my hand for nearly a day, I had done it without realizing.

Soon the phone was ringing. I prayed he would pick up. I didn't have any more quarters. If he didn't answer, I didn't know what I would do.

Luckily, he did.

"Hello?" I heard Percy's confused voice on the line. Relief shot through me, overpowering.

"Percy? Oh my gods, Percy, I'm so glad you answered. I'm stuck, you need to call Thalia-"

"Annabeth? What's going on?"

"You need to call Thalia, or Jason, or someone, I'm stuck-"

"Annabeth!" Percy's voice was firmer now, even over the crackly receiver. The sun had set now, and it was dark, rain marks on the thin wall of the phone box. "Slow down. What's wrong?"

"I'm stuck," I told him for the third time, the panic evident in my voice. "I've been mugged, I'm somewhere near eastern central park, and I have no money. Can you call Thalia or someone, and ask them to pick me up?"

"Where are you?" he asked.

"I don't know," I said helplessly. "I'm near central park, and there's a news corporation tower, Weekly Goddess, near me, a few blocks away."

"I know that area," Percy said, "Wait outside the tower. I'll be there soon."

"You don't have to come," I began to say, "Thalia or someone-"

But he had already hung up.

* * *

He arrived in just under twenty minutes, which was remarkably quick. He spotted me first, as a blue Prius pulled up. A window was rolled down.

"Annabeth!" Percy called out. I could've cried in relief. I was freezing, soaked to the bone, and practically ran to the car.

The car was warm, with a homely smell. It wasn't clean, but not in a similar way to Luke's. Luke's car had been like a trashcan, but this just felt comfortable. There was a tissue box at the back, some chocolates, a couple of workbooks. Not what I would have expected from Percy Jackson's car.

I closed the door behind me. Percy looked at me in concern. "Annabeth, you're drenched."

"Sorry, I must be getting your car wet."

Percy snorted. "That doesn't matter." He grabbed a towel from the back. "Here, you should dry yourself." He cranked up the heating to its maximum.

I was surprised he had thought of bringing a towel. "Thank you," I told him. He shrugged, as he started to drive.

Percy was dressed in dark jeans, and he was wearing a black leather jacket, his hair clean. He looked smart, and I guiltily wondered if I'd interrupted him in something.

"You didn't have to come, you know," I told him. "I wasn't going to ask that of you-"

"Annabeth," he cut me off. "It's fine. I couldn't not come." He frowned. "Now, tell me, what happened? In detail. Why were you even out here on Thursday evening?"

I told him everything that had happened, from my date with Luke to getting mugged to the phone box. He sat there in silence, his frown growing more and more. I was just glad he didn't make fun of me about the part where I had memorized his number.

"Are you okay, now?" he asked, a serious tone to his voice. His hands gripped tight on his steering wheel. "Did those people harm you?" I shook my head.

"What did they look like?" he asked angrily.

"About our age? I don't know," I said helplessly. He nodded stiffly, though he seemed to relax slightly.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that. Luke should've driven you home," he commented.

"He had to go," I said, though I wasn't sure why I was defending him. No, I was. Luke was my crush and friend after all.

Percy just shrugged. "Still. He should've made sure you got home alright. Why were you on a date with him anyway?"

I just squirmed uncomfortably. "He asked me," was my feeble response, but when Percy said it, I felt stupid.

Suddenly Percy's phone, which was in the car holder, buzzed. Keeping one hand on the wheel, he checked the phone. As he did, it started ringing. Percy just turned the phone off.

"Aren't you going to answer it?" I asked curiously.

"It's nothing." He put his hand on the radio dial. "You want to listen to music?"

"Sure," I responded. I was much warmer now, the heating doing a lot.

"What d'you want?" he asked eagerly.

I shrugged. "You choose."

He switched radio station, and a soft, jazzy upbeat tune came on. "This alright?" he asked me.

"Perfect," I smiled.

"Is your house north-west or east?" Percy asked. I gave him directions.

"Thanks, Percy," I told him. "Seriously."

He just shrugged, before giving me a goofy smile. "Does this mean I get an extension on our homework?"

I laughed. "Nope," I said, popping the 'p', "because I'm not your tutor right now."

"Meanie," Percy pouted, making me laugh again. "Then what are you?" he asked, his grin infectious.

"I'm Annabeth right now," I told him carefully, "and I'm your supreme leader during tutoring sessions."

"Well, what does the supreme leader think about opening a bag of chocolates from the back? I'm hungry."

"The supreme leader thinks it's the best news she's heard all day." I reached my hand to the back, the music pleasant to my ears (I'm Yours by Jason Mraz). "Wispa or Maltesers?" I asked.

"You choose," Percy shrugged.

Soon we were snacking on maltesers like there was no tomorrow. "Chuck me one," Percy said. "I bet I can catch it with my mouth."

"You'll kill us all, Seaweed Brain," I scolded.

"I promise I won't," he said earnestly.

After a few minutes, I relented. "Fine," I sighed, "but if you don't catch it, you have to sing along to the next song."

"Deal," Percy said happily.

I chucked it. No surprise, Percy missed it. "Unfair," Percy whined, "it was a bad throw."

"Stop being a sore loser, Seaweed Brain," I teased, "now sing to the next song."

There was a silence on the radio before a song burst to life.

I grinned. It was "Only You" by Yazoo. **(A/N: If you're a Oncer, you'll probably get the reference :p)**

Percy paled. "I have to sing this? But it's so difficult!" he protested. I raised my eyebrows.

And then Percy Jackson burst into song, singing along with the jumping beat. It would've been awkward if he hadn't put all his energy into it, but he did. He sung his heart out, and he was so enthusiastic you couldn't fault it.

After a minute, the rain still pattering on the windscreen, Percy nudged me. "Aren't you going to join in, Wise Girl?" I shook my head, but he laughed. "Are you scared?" he teased.

Let's just say I can't turn down challenges.

So yes, that's how Percy Jackson, the guy who I didn't even like, and I ended up in a sing-along in his car. It would've been cheesy, or even weird, but it wasn't, somehow. It felt fun, and I felt at ease.

I was sure I was an awful singer, but Percy wasn't bad. Even when Ed Sheeran's Thinking Out Loud came on, we continued.

I was surprised at how much I was enjoying myself, how quickly the time passed. Before I knew it, we had pulled up outside my house, the lights on, meaning Helen was home. Percy turned the radio off, and I felt a twinge of disappointment that it was over.

"This is you, right?" he asked. I nodded. I hesitated before getting out.

"Listen, Percy," I paused, searching for the right words, before simply saying, "Thank you. Seriously."

Percy's green eyes, his deep, sparkling green eyes, bore into me. I could trace the outline of his face with my finger if I wanted to, and I could hear his breathing, we were that close.

"It's fine," he said, his eyes not moving off me. We were so close if I tilted forward, we would be kissing, my lips on his—

I quickly moved backwards, opening the door, stepping out into the fresh air. "Thanks," I told him again, before walking to the door, not trusting myself to say anything more than that.

As Matthew opened the door, Helen asking him to, I waved bye to Percy's car, which was pulling away, having seen me gain entry.

I entered the house, my mind spinning. Had I actually almost kissed Percy Jackson? What was I thinking? The guy was a player, a jerk.

But was he? He had picked me up, he had driven all the way, and despite everything, I found myself enjoying the time I spent with him.

I shook myself off. I couldn't allow such thoughts. I had a crush on Luke. Percy was a player. He probably did this with every girl. It was nothing, and I would ignore it.

Helen called out hello, asking where I had been, and I told her I had been on a date.

"Did you enjoy yourself?"

I thought about my awful date with Luke, getting mugged, and was about to say no, when I thought of the car, Percy bringing a towel, us eating maltesers, singing along.

Despite my newfound resolution, I couldn't help smiling. "Yes. Yeah, I did."

* * *

 **What did you guys think? Predictions? I have a surprise in store for you yet.**

 **Also, I couldn't resist writing in 'Only You'. If you watch Once Upon a Time, you may get that reference. Explanation: I had written that part just after watching s5 ep5. If you do watch it, what are you guys thinking of season 5?**

 **Please review, it would mean a lot and speed up the update!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Here is the next chapter, sorry it's been a while. I've been pretty busy and on top of that was focussing on my crossover story. But at least I'm updating now!**

 **Thanks to those of you who did review (shoutouts to MAL- Daughter of Chaos, C123002, Guardian'sDragonOfDeath and Ruzsian!)**

 **Also, to Demigoddess13: Thanks for your long review, I always love reading them :) Once is awesome, I'm glad Herc and Meg will be in the next season half, but i really want Red to come back! (Again.) Also I like Jily a lot, but I don't mind Snily. As in I don't want them to be a couple but it adds depth to Snape's character. So I wouldn't mind reading a fic about their friendship (which I like) or their emotions (usually those fics are sad, but good) but I wouldn't want to read a fic where they're in a relationship (that sounded less confusing in my head)**

 **Hope you enjoy this chapter, it is sort of filler-y, but eh. In a couple of chapters you're going to start seeing some real plot twists xD**

* * *

Chapter 9

Percy

Friday was a good day to get dumped.

No, honestly. The sun was shining bright in the morning, everyone seemed happy, and weekend tomorrow? Pretty good.

So there I was, entering school. I was questioning Grover about his wildlife demonstration.

"But what did you actually do?" I asked.

"Well, we were in Central Park, we planted a couple of trees, we sold pamphlets—"

"And that was worth spending a day?" I asked skeptically.

Grover blushed. "Well, actually yeah. I met this really nice girl—"

Before Grover could continue talking, he was cut off by a ringing voice.

"Percy!" Drew yelled, marching down the hall. Her black hair was glossed, and her mascara lined eyes were narrowed at me. She was wearing a tight black top and a red skirt. The hallway cleared as she marched down it, towards me.

I spotted Jason and Thalia, looking on, exasperated. Next to them, at her locker, was Annabeth. She was dressed in a blue blouse and jeans, her blonde hair tied into a ponytail. She hadn't done much, but in my opinion she looked better than Drew. She was looking on at the scene, disgust evident on her face. Whether it was directed towards Drew or me, maybe both, I wasn't sure.

I sighed, turning to Grover. "I expect to hear the story about this girl," I told him. "But maybe save it for after this."

Grover just nodded, looking at the scene anxiously.

Drew marched right up to me, glaring at me. "You think you're so great," she told me.

"What's wrong?" I asked, frowning.

"What's wrong?" Drew hissed. "As if you don't know."

"Well, I don't," I said, bored, "so unless this has a point, Drew—"

"You just left me to dry last night! I texted you, you told me you were going to come to the party!"

Oh, right. I'd forgotten about that. For a week now Drew had been pestering me to go to her friend's party. Eventually, I'd given in. I had actually been ready last night, when Annabeth had called.

"I sent you a text," I reminded her. "Something came up."

"More important than the party?" Drew asked, murderously.

 _Yes_ , I thought. I didn't say anything out loud though.

That's when Drew delivered her blow. "Apparently you were with another girl."

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"It's true, isn't it?" Drew's voice was accusing. "Lacy saw you in your car, picking someone up. That's what you ditched me for? Another girl?"

I stared at her. "Drew, what are you trying to say here? You think I'm cheating?" I tried to inflect anger in my voice, but I couldn't bring myself to care. Frankly, Drew's problems seemed irrelevant to me.

"That's exactly what I think." Drew glared at me, her voice not even that loud, but everyone in the hall was listening. "You think you're so cool, you can do whatever you want. Well I'll tell you what, Percy. We're done. You don't get this," she gestured at herself, "anymore, 'cause we're over."

I looked at her blankly. "Okay," I said.

"Okay?" Drew hissed. "You're not going to beg? I'm breaking up with you!"

"And I respect that decision," I told her, trying not to laugh at how much this was riling her up.

"You're such a jerk, Jackson!" she screamed. "You're going to regret what's happened, and then you'll be sorry you don't have me!"

She stormed out of the hall, a gang of girls following her. I looked around at the hall, and suddenly everyone went back to what they were doing before.

Grover whistled. "Dude, you made her mad. Are you seriously okay though?" I noticed he didn't ask whether or not I had actually been cheating. Probably because he no longer wanted to know the answer.

"I'm fine," I told him. "Absolutely fine." He raised his eyebrows at me, but it was the truth.

Sure, Drew had broken up with me, but I didn't really mind. I wasn't really serious about the relationship.

Jason approached us. "Hey, man. That was pretty intense."

I raised an eyebrow. "Was it? I found it pretty funny, to be honest."

Jason's face broke into a relieved grin. "Yeah, so did I," he admitted. "Wow, Percy, you really know how to annoy girls."

I smiled at that. "Yeah. I guess I do."

* * *

For some reason I felt refreshed that weekend. My mom looked at me funny several times.

"What happened, a girl ask you out?"

"The opposite," I told her, shoveling waffles down.

"A girl broke up with you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "And you're happy about that."

"I wouldn't call it happy," I shrugged. "Just a positive outlook on life. I mean, lots of doors have opened now. New possibilities and all that."

"Gets stranger by the day," I heard my mom saying as I left the house. I chuckled.

I managed to do my tuition homework for Sunday, where Annabeth and I had arranged an emergency session for the test I have on Monday. I was making my way there when I got a text from Grover.

 **You want to hang for a bit? Got some news. ~Grover**

I considered for a second. I _was_ a bit early for my tuition.

 **Only got ten minutes before I have to be somewhere. ~Percy**

 **That's cool. See u in a sec. ~Grover**

I smiled in amusement. Soon I was knocking on Grover's door.

"So what's the news?" I asked as he let me in.

Soon we were playing a quick game on his console as we talked. "I'm thinking of asking someone out," Grover admitted.

"You are?" I looked at him skeptically. Grover had had a bunch of crushes before, from everyone to Artemis Hunter, a leading businesswoman, to the owner of the flower shop around the corner, _Persephone's Bouquet_ (yes, Nico's stepmom). His most recent one, and still ongoing that I was aware of, was Zoe Nightshade from our school. Point is, he's only had two relationships, both pretty long-term, and I never know one when of his crushes is serious. Grover's pretty serious when it comes to relationships, so I make sure he doesn't ask out every girl he sees, because he'd just cause a big mess for himself.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"The same girl I met at the march, the one I mentioned. I know what you're thinking," Grover added quickly, "but this one is serious. Her name's Juniper, and she's pretty awesome."

"Grover, are you sure?"

"I think so." He hesitated.

"You should think about it first. You can't rush into relationships."

Grover raised an eyebrow. "You're one to talk."

I laughed, because he was right. But my judgment was still intact, especially when it came to other people's relationships. And the truth was, Grover and me were opposite ends of the scale. He fell in love with every girl, and I fell in love with none. Not anymore.

"Look, promise me you'll wait. Give it some time." He nodded hesitantly. I clap him on the back, before shooting up.

"I have to go," I realised.

"Where?" he asked.

I paused, before deciding to tell the truth. "I'm getting tutored. Have to, if I want to stay on the swim team."

Grover stared at me for a second, before breaking out into a grin. "That's great," he said happily. "Now go! You can explain more later!"

I nodded at him, before rushing out. I was going to be late, I realized.

Sure enough I arrived at our usual park bench fifteen minutes late. I grinned though: Annabeth wasn't here yet.

Oh, I could have some fun with this.

Just as I had opened my books on the table, Annabeth approached, out of breath.

"Percy—sorry for being—"

"You're late," I told her, adding a disappointed tone to my voice. "By twenty minutes."

"I know, and—"

"I arrived here five minutes early, ready to learn, and I've had to wait her for nearly half an hour." I managed to keep my tone serious.

"That's—"

"Aren't you even going to apologize?" I asked her, shaking my head. Finally I let Annabeth speak.

She sat down on the bench, sighing. "I'm sorry, Percy, I really am, it's just—" she pauses, clearly upset.

It was at that point that I felt guilty for making fun of her. Obviously something had happened, and I had just acted like a jerk.

"Hey, hey, I was just joking. I'm not actually mad. I actually only arrived a couple of minutes ago myself." She let out a small laugh. "What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing," she said, and I raised my eyebrow. "Fine," she admits, "I got into a fight with my brother."

"Over what?"

"Something stupid," she said, "living arrangements and what-not. It doesn't matter. I'm okay now. Let's get on with this tuition if you don't want to fail your test."

"I think that ship may have sailed a long time ago."

Nonetheless, soon I was practicing chemistry theory.

After a few minutes though, Annabeth spoke up. "I am sorry, though."

I rolled my eyes. "I already told you, it's fine. I don't mind that you were late—"

"No, not about that. About your breakup with Drew."

I looked at her, surprised. "That wasn't your fault."

Annabeth shot me a skeptical look. "Wasn't it? Her friend saw me get in your car."

"Well, it's not like I was cheating," I said, a defensive tone creeping into my voice.

"I know, I know," Annabeth rushed to say, "but I feel guilty. You didn't tell me you were meant to be at her party. You didn't have to pick me up."

"Annabeth, it's fine," I told her sternly, wanting the conversation to end for some reason. "I didn't like Drew that much anyway. More of just a fling."

An emotion flickered through her face that I couldn't decipher, but before I knew it I was back to the calculations.

I tried to keep up conversation between work, more for my own sake than hers.

"So," I asked after a while, "are you going to Silena's party?"

Annabeth wrinkled her nose. "The one in two weeks?" I nodded in response. She shrugged.

"Don't think so. It'll probably just be a waste of time."

"I'm going," I told her.

"I expected as much," she said, not looking at me.

"You should come," I insisted. "It'll be fun, and you look like you could use some stress relief."

"Yeah, but stress relief doesn't have to be in the form of a _party_ ," Annabeth scoffed, "in fact I heard one of the most effective forms of stress relief is doing an extreme sport like mountain climbing or—"

"You want to go mountain climbing?" I said skeptically.

She met my eyes, before laughing. "No," she eventually said.

"So you'll go to the party!" I finished triumphantly.

She shrugged, admitting defeat. "I guess I am."

Little did I know what that decision would lead to.

* * *

 **Any guesses?**

 **I got some plot twists in mind on various plot threads. I have a good plan for this story, it's just getting it on that track, I'm really building stuff up right now.**

 **Next update... I don't know when it will be. Largely depends on reviews, more reviews will inspire me to write. Hopefully shouldn't be too long, but in the meantime please review, tell me your predictions and thoughts, or any requests!**


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I also got a particularly nice review from emmagrace13, so thanks :) But you're all awesome if you reviewed!**

 **Also, for any Harry Potter fans who might be interested, I'm thinking of posting a story about Dumbledore's background. So if you're interested, please check that out! You can also check out my HP/PJO crossover too, Colliding Worlds, if you want!**

 **Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 10

 **Annabeth**

Is it weird that I couldn't wait for school to start?

Wait, don't answer that question. The response is _yes_.

But it was the truth. Home wasn't exactly my favourite place, and the rest of that Sunday after my tuition session with Percy was pretty awkward.

I'd already done most of my homework on Friday, so I didn't know what to do. It was a pretty cold day, so I didn't want to go outside. And I couldn't exactly talk to Malcolm, considering our fight this morning.

Surprise, surprise, it was about our mom. Malcolm came home every weekend, but during the week he was living in our mom's penthouse. I hadn't even met mom during this time period.

Yeah, I'll admit it. I wasn't proud of it, but I was slightly jealous of Malcolm. Mom had never seemed that interested in us, and now Malcolm was staying with her, working at her architecture firm: _my_ dream job. He was only interning as an IT consultant!

But I'd swallowed my emotions. I was pretty proud of him. Until his revelation this morning, where he'd told me he might end up staying at mom's for a while. No coming back on the weekend, nothing.

"What?" I asked, surprised.

"Mom asked me," Malcolm said, a small smile on his face. "And I think it could be good. Time to bond with mom. It's more convenient, and—"

But I'd stopped listening. "So you're just going to go? Just like that?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Well, I think so, it's not permanent." Malcolm frowned slightly. "What's your problem?"

"I just don't think it's a good idea," I said coolly.

"And why not?"

"Because mom never cared enough about us before to ask us to live with her, and now she does? Seems pretty suspect to me."

"What are you trying to say?" Malcolm asked harshly.

"I'm saying, why not stay here? Why just leave Dad and Helen and—" I stopped myself.

"I'm not leaving them, it's just for a while," Malcolm shot back.

"How long then?" I asked. I wasn't even sure why I was so against the idea, I just _was_.

"I- I don't know," Malcolm admitted.

"See?" I said triumphantly. "You don't even—"

"You're just jealous," Malcolm interrupted. "Look, Annabeth, I'm sure the only reason mom didn't ask you is—"

"You think I'm jealous?" I said, shocked.

Malcolm smiled sympathetically. "I'm doing an internship there, that's why. If it makes you feel better, she asked about you—"

"I'm not jealous," I said, outraged. "I just think it's a bad idea."

Malcolm just gave me a look. "It's alright, Annabeth."

Now I was mad. "I'm not jealous! You're the one who think this actually means anything, well you're wrong!" I said scathingly. I saw a look of hurt on his face, but before he could say anything I stormed out.

Here I was, a few hours later, and I regretted most of what I said. Was Malcolm right? Was I jealous?

Somehow I survived the rest of Sunday. At the end of the day, I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.

* * *

Monday was a hectic school day. For some reason most of the teachers decided, as the holiday season approached, to be generous and give presents to everyone in the class: in the form of homework.

Take my Architecture teacher. Just as class was ending, Miss Thina called out, "Oh, and for homework, I want a three page essay on why Corinthian columns are better than Doric columns, in terms of structural support. Don't forget!"

Reyna groaned. "That's my fourth essay this week," she complained as walked to our next lessons. She was dressed in a blue t-shirt that was slightly small for her and faded jeans, and she was letting her brown hair out of a ponytail.

"It's a pretty easy topic," I said reasonably. Reyna just shrugged.

"Say, what's your next lesson?" she asked. "I have Bio, with Mrs. Rodriguez, who is so boring…"

"Advanced math," I told her. I liked math a lot, so that wasn't really a problem.

Reyna walked past my classroom. "This is you, right?"

I nodded, waving at her as she walked up the stairs. Reyna was pretty cool.

I saw Matt and took my seat next to him. He glanced at me curiously.

"Were you talking to Reyna Avila Ramirez-Arellano right now?"

I blinked. "Um… yes. Why?"

Matt blushed. "No reason. I just didn't realise you were friends with her."

I looked at him suspiciously. "Well, yeah, I am. But—" My mind whirred. Matt's blush, the way he asked about Reyna, saying her full name… "Do you like her?" I asked him.

"No!" If possible, Matt blushed harder. I grinned.

"You so do," I teased. "I don't care. If you were going to crush on someone, Reyna's a pretty good choice."

Matt just shrugged uncomfortably.

"Why don't you ask her out?" I asked curiously.

"There'snopointit'snotlikeshe'dwouldeversayyessheprobablylikessomeonelse," Matt muttered quickly.

"Huh?"

"There's no point," Matt repeated, slower, his tone self-conscious. "She probably likes someone else."

"Well, you don't know until you try," I offered.

Mr. Bing coming in interrupted us, and soon while we were doing calculations I was trying to encourage him to ask Reyna out.

"You're a great guy, why wouldn't she say yes?"

"She won't say yes!"

"You don't know till you ask. Just do it."

By the end of the lesson I had managed to convince Matt to ask her out. He was very red, and kept readjusting his hair self-consciously.

"Stop it, you're fine," I told him as we walked to lunch. I entered the lunch hall, and nodded at Matt. "It'll be fine," I promised. He nodded back nervously, before waiting at the door. I walked to the table where Piper, Hazel and Frank were sitting.

"What's going on?" Hazel asked curiously.

I smiled. "Just watch."

As it turned out, we had to wait a few minutes. Eventually though, Reyna walked through the doors, entering the lunch hall which was getting pretty crowded.

But she wasn't alone. She was holding hands with some tall guy with dark hair, a stiff expression on his face. I saw Matt stepping forward, before seeing the other guy and stepping back again, his expression upset. My face fell.

Reyna didn't even notice him. She walked through the lunch hall with the guy. That's when I noticed Piper and Hazel's expression. There was distaste on their face. I knew why I was upset with this, but why were they?

Reyna kissed the guy with her, before sitting down at her table, smiling at us.

"Who- who was that?" I asked.

"Ethan Nakamura," Reyna responded, digging into her meal. "He asked me out on the weekend, and so now we're dating."

"Oh," was my only response. In the distance, I saw Matt leaving the lunch hall.

* * *

Two days later, and not much happened.

Well, Malcolm and I made up. I figured I should probably apologise, and when I did, he just shrugged.

"It's cool," he told me. "I figure we probably both said stuff we didn't mean." I nodded. Malcolm looked at me, as if deciding whether to say something. "I've put off staying at mom's apartment for now, since it wasn't convenient," he said casually, but before I could get too happy, he continued. "It's likely to happen in a while, though."

"Oh," I said.

"I will miss this place," Malcolm said wistfully, before recovering. "Not like it's permanent though."

I didn't say what I was thinking: that it sure felt permanent. It felt like my mom was stealing my brother away. That's why I was really angry about the idea.

But I was just being childish. So I didn't say any of it.

I also apologized to Matt. Big week for me, huh?

"Look, Matt," I said awkwardly, as we both sat down next Maths lesson, "I didn't know about Reyna and Ethan. I'm sorry if I—"

"It's fine," Matt said, smiling. I looked at him uncertainly.

"Are you sure? Because it must have been—"

"I'm fine," Matt told me, his voice forced. "I'm over it."

I kept my doubts to myself.

It was only on Thursday lunch that I discovered the truth about Ethan. It was one of those lunches when most of the guys had already left, and Reyna had left early to meet Ethan, so it was just me, Piper, Hazel, Calypso and Leo.

Calypso and Leo sat on opposite ends of the table. Every so often their eyes would meet: it was clear they were crushing on each other.

As Ethan and Reyna left, Leo scowled. "God, I hate that guy."

"You do?" I asked, surprised. "Why?"

Hazel looked at me. "Most of the guys do. He's a jerk and a bully, apparently, but he's two-faced. You'd never know it by looking at him, he puts on such a good front."

Piper nodded. "I can't believe Reyna's going out with him. Jason was so mad when he found out."

"Jason?"

"Reyna used to have a crush on Jason, but Jason always viewed her like a sister," Piper explained. "Reyna's long gotten over her crush, but Jason's still protective of her."

"And so are we," Calypso pointed out. "Reyna's our friend, and I'm afraid Ethan's going to hurt her."

"So why don't you tell her this?" I asked them.

Leo snorted. "Because she's Reyna. She'll never listen, not when she's dating." He sighed, before getting up. "Well, I have to go to detention." His eyes once again met Calypso's, before he rushed off.

I smirked. "Calypso, you so have a crush on him."

"No, I don't!" she responded, outraged.

"Yes, you do," Hazel said, surprised, as if she thought everyone knew. "It's obvious."

Calypso turned red. "If it helps," Piper offered, "he likes you back." Calypso pretended not to care, but I saw her fighting a smile.

"Yeah, well, Annabeth has a crush," Calypso retaliated.

"On who?" I asked, surprised.

"I don't know," Calypso admitted, "but it's obvious."

I smirked, but Hazel nodded. "She's right."

"What?"

"You're always busy after school or on weekends," Hazel told her.

Piper grinned. "Not to mention that phone number you had on your hand a few weeks ago? Definitely crushing on someone."

"Phone number?" It took a second before I remembered. Percy had written his number on my hand for tutoring. "Oh, you mean Percy's—" I immediately stopped speaking when I realized what I had said.

Calypso gasped. "It's Percy?"

"I would not have expected that," Hazel said, shaking her head.

"It's not like you think," I said desperately, mentally hitting myself.

Piper smirked. "Sure, Annabeth."

"I'm tutoring him, okay?" I told them. Immediately they went quiet. "Nothing else, nothing else at all."

"Tutoring?" Hazel frowned. "Why does Percy need tutoring?"

"He was going to get kicked off the swim team if he didn't improve his grades. We both signed up to local tutorship centre, me as a tutor, him as a student. We got assigned to each other."

"Oh," Calypso said, breaking the silence. "Sorry."

"I didn't want to tell anyone because I didn't want to get made fun of," I muttered. When I said it out loud it sounded dumb—which it probably was.

"Tutoring, huh?" Piper mused. "How romantic." I kicked her in the shin lightly at her teasing.

"So you're the reason," Hazel said slowly, as if still thinking something through.

"What?"

"You're the reason he's so much better," Hazel said excitedly.

"What?" I asked again.

"No, she's right," Piper said, eyes wide in realization. At my face, she started to explain. "Recently, Percy's been getting a lot better."

"Less of a player, not as much of a—well—jerk to other people," Calypso said apologetically, "more like his old self, how he was before—" Calypso stopped speaking, and the Piper and Hazel's faces darkened. I wondered what they were talking about.

"We figured it was down to something," Hazel said, "like maybe he'd met someone, or something had happened. But it was you! You're making him better!"

"Me?" I asked, unsure. "I don't think so. It's probably something else, if anything."

"No, it makes sense," Piper said firmly. "You're a good influence on him. Tutoring—he's focusing on work, it's good."

I shrugged uneasily. Noticing my awkwardness, Hazel changed the subject.

"So, are you going to Silena's party?" she asked hopefully.

"Percy will be there," Piper said happily. "You should go."

"I am," I told them to their surprise. "I promised Percy I would."

Calypso squealed. "That means something. Something is definitely going to happen at that party!"

I shook my head. Percy asking me didn't mean anything, we were just friends, good friends even. "Nothing's going to happen," I told her.

Piper's eyes sparkled. "Oh, Annabeth," she sighed, "something _always_ happens at parties."

Oh, how right she was.

* * *

 **Next chapter will be the long-awaited party, and certainly stuff will... happen. And we also get a revelation which answers the question: who is Luke's mystery girl? Not to mention some, ahem, other stuff. Last minute predictions?**

 **If you want to read the next chapter, please review! Reviews motivate me and always speed up my update... if all of you reviewed right now I would make sure I posted the next chapter today :) So review, and till next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**So here it is, the next chapter! I hope you like it, it was challenging to write but hopefully I got there in the end.**

 **Please check out my other stories: Dumbledore's Tale (HP) and Colliding Worlds (HP and PJO crossover) – both updated regularly.**

 **Thanks for all of your reviews! They were all great. I read every single one of them, but unfortunately I don't have enough time to respond to reviews right now :( But I loved reading them :D Your predictions were great!**

 **Also, demigoddess13, I added hints of Tratie in this chapter for you, hope you enjoy!**

 **So, without further ado, hope you enjoy this chapter, which is the longest yet! We even get a new P.O.V in the beginning...**

* * *

Chapter 11

 **Thalia**

"See you mom, I'm going!"

Thalia's mom, who had been on her laptop in the study, turned round. Despite the fact she hadn't even tried, she looked stunning. Way more pretty than Thalia could ever look.

Beryl smiled. "Oh, is it time for you to go already?" Thalia nodded, and her mom hugged her. "How are you getting to Annabeth's?"

"Jason's dropping me," Thalia announced.

"I am?" Jason said, striding down the stairs and slipping on his trainers.

"Yup," she said, popping the p. Jason sighed.

Beryl kissed Jason before waving them both goodbye.

"You're going in that?" Jason asked, his tone careful, as they walked down the driveway. Thalia was dressed in a scruffy shirt and shorts.

She scoffed. "No," she held up her bag, "these are my clothes. I'm getting ready with Annabeth."

They got into the car and Jason started the engine. Thalia scanned him. She had just realized that he had dressed pretty smart: a new pair of jeans, a blue jacket and a clean shirt.

"Who you looking to impress?" she teased him.

Jason blushed. "Piper's one of the hosts," he mumbled.

"I know," Thalia snorted. "She's being going on about it non-stop."

"Well, it is the last party before the holidays," Jason defended.

They spent the rest of the time with Thalia teasing Jason about his relationship. Luckily, Jason didn't ask any questions about Thalia's: he knew better than to go into that topic.

Soon Thalia was knocking on Annabeth's door, wishing Jason goodbye. They would see each other again at the party.

Annabeth opened the door, smiling at her.

"Thalia, I'm so glad you're here, I thought we were going to miss the party, and I still have no clue what clothes I should wear, and then there's the matter of—"

"Calm down, we're fine!" Thalia scolded her, cutting her off before she rambled on.

"Yes, but I have no idea what to wear or—"

"Annabeth?"

"Yeah?"

"Stop worrying. Now let's do this."

* * *

Half an hour later, and they were ready to go, and not too late.

They were both dressed in casual clothing, but Annabeth had let her hair out of a ponytail, and she looked pretty good. Thalia had dressed in a black skirt and top.

Usually, Thalia (and Annabeth for that matter) didn't care about these parties, but this one had been hyped up _a lot_. Not to mention, Thalia knew what was going to happen, and she wanted to be… prepared.

We took a taxi to Silena's house, talking on the way.

Annabeth nudged her. "So, you got any special plans?" she teased.

"No," Thalia snorted. "Why, do you?"

"Nope," Annabeth responded.

"You seem to be in a happy mood," Thalia said suspiciously.

"That's not a crime, Thalia, you should try it some time. Say, where's Jason?"

"He went early to help Piper, Silena and Drew set up," Thalia told her, rolling her eyes.

Before they knew it, they had reached Silena's house. Though Piper and Drew lived in other houses, with their respective dads, since they were all half-sisters they met up a lot, and usually their base was Silena's house. Thalia could see why.

Silena's house was huge. It was a vast three-story home, with a huge garden and even a swimming pool. To even get in they had to get buzzed through the front gate.

"This is… grand," Annabeth said, her eyes wide as she looked around. Knowing her, Thalia thought, she was probably just looking at the architecture.

The moment they entered the house, they were hit by a bunch of people. There was loud music playing in the background. Silena saw them and smiled.

"Thalia! Annabeth! You're here!" They hugged her. "The party's just getting started, most people are in the garden."

Silena directed them, and soon they were greeting people. Thalia vaguely registered saying hello to people, but one person in particular had caught her eye. He was near the drinks stand, where bunches of people were refilling. He stared at her, before turning away. _Not yet_ was the clear message.

Nico nudged her, after everyone had settled back into conversation. "Hey, Thals, you look like you're concentrating. It's weird."

"Oh, shut up, Nico," Thalia said, but her tone was light. She glanced at Nico properly, and saw, like usual, he was wearing a black shirt and jeans. She was still taller than him, and she wouldn't let her cousin forget the fact.

But Thalia knew she wouldn't be able to enjoy the party until she found out what it was. She needed to go talk to him.

"Sorry, Nico, I actually need to go talk to someone. I'll be back later." Nico shrugged, and she walked away.

She didn't look at him, but she knew he saw. She walked down the path, towards the end of the garden where it was less busy, the music fading. Soon she was at the back of the garden, behind the shed. She rubbed her arms, and sure enough, a second later, he appeared.

"Luke," she began, not letting him say anything. "What did you want to say?"

She studied him. Like usual, he looked good. He was wearing a designer hoodie with the sleeves rolled up, and his hair was carefully styled up at the front. His blue eyes pierced into her, full of an emotion she couldn't quite decipher. He looked pretty sober.

Luke had sent her a text message saying they needed to talk at Silena's party. Thalia didn't know what about. She hadn't talked to him since she had said she no longer wanted to see him.

Of course, she saw him at school, in the corridors or in class. It was difficult, pretending she hated him (though at times that was more than easy), pretending she hadn't spoken to him in years when in fact she knew Luke better than anyone. But they lived separate lives at school.

But she couldn't take the sneaking around anymore. It was a year after Luke had come back they had started talking again. Thalia hadn't lied to Annabeth about that: Luke had been a massive jerk when he moved back to Goode High.

But after a while Thalia had talked to him. She didn't want Grover or Percy or any of her friends to know. They all hated him, for being a bully at school.

Thalia had decided to give him another chance though, so she had started meeting him after school. That had continued for ages, and one thing lead to another…

But she couldn't take that anymore. Three times she had stopped it, not being able to sneak around anymore. But she knew it wouldn't last.

However, last time had been _it_. She was fed up of Luke being a good person when he was alone with her, but a complete jerk, flirting and bullying and setting challenges, when he was at school. He couldn't live two different lives: at least, not with Thalia involved.

"Thalia," Luke said, stepping towards her. "I miss you."

It took all of Thalia's self control not to kiss him, forgive him. But she couldn't. Not while it would just be the same.

"So?" Thalia responded coldly.

There was pain in Luke's eyes. "Why are you doing this? You're just making us both miserable—"

"You didn't seem to mind," Thalia said savagely, "when you were taking Annabeth on dates—"

"One date," Luke corrected. "But I stopped it. I was just mad at you for ending it, I'm sorry, I really am."

Luke took another step closer, till they were nearly touching.

"You know why, Luke," Thalia whispered. "I don't know who you are half the time—how am I meant to be with you?"

"I know, but I'll change."

"You say that, but—"

"No, I really mean it." Luke grasped her wrist. "I love you, Thalia, and I know you love me. I'll stop it, all of it. I'll stop being as much of a jerk, I'll change I promise. All of it, it'll end."

Thalia looked up at his eyes, and saw the hopefulness in his eyes.

Luke looked at her, as if he could sense she was still undecided. "I promise, Thalia, okay? I promise," he repeated slowly.

And then somehow Thalia was kissing him. She had missed this, missed him.

"I believe you," Thalia whispered back.

 **Annabeth**

I had only been at the party half an hour when I was wondering why I had come. Okay, to be fair, it hadn't been bad before Silena's suggestion.

The moment I had come in I was greeting people. Piper looked stunning in a red top and cream shorts.

"You look good," she said to me, impressed. I shrugged.

Reyna was dressed pretty similar to me: we both wore light trousers and dark tops, but she sensibly wore a jacket. My arms were bare, but luckily it wasn't too cold. Hazel and Calypso, who wore a yellow blouse, both looked nice in jeans and Hazel, like me, had let her hair down rather than tying it up for once.

Next to Hazel was Frank, and with him Leo, Jason, Grover, Nico… and Percy. I said hi to all of them, and Percy smirked at me.

"So you came?" he said, keeping his voice down. He was dressed in jeans and a checkered red button down shirt, with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His jet-black hair was as messy as usual, and his green eyes sparkled. I'll admit it, he looked pretty good.

"I did promise," I responded. Before he could say anything, I was pulled away by Piper who said she had to talk to me.

"Yeah?" I asked her.

"So," she said slowly, her eyes dancing with mischief. "You have any _plans_ for this evening?"

"Yeah," I told her. "This party."

Piper rolled her eyes. "I meant plans _at_ this party."

I looked at her suspiciously. "I don't get it."

"Are you looking to impress anyone? Get along with a certain… person?" Piper asked, spelling it out to me.

I blushed. "I already told you, I don't have a crush on anyone. You're acting like some sort of—"

"Romance ninja?" Reyna suggested, having joined us.

"Yes," I said triumphantly. "You're a romance ninja, trying to get people together and stuff."

"Is that meant to be insult?" Piper asked, raising her eyebrows. "'Cause it sounds like a compliment to me."

"It wasn't a compliment, it was—oh never mind. Why don't you talk about Reyna's boyfriend?"

Piper turned to Reyna. "That's a good point," she said, narrowing her eyes. "Where's your boyfriend?"

Reyna shrugged. "Ethan went to talk to some of his friends."

They carried on talking, but I spotted Matt talking to Percy and some other guys on the swim team. Matt met my eyes, and smiled at me, before noticing Reyna. His smile disappeared. He was still upset about that whole thing, clearly. I couldn't help but feel guilty.

We spent the next twenty minutes talking, people coming and entering the conversation. As I scanned the garden, I saw quite a few people were dancing, others were just talking (I didn't see Thalia though—I didn't know where she'd gone). Thankfully Piper didn't ask about my uneventful love life again, and I was enjoying myself.

Unfortunately, Silena called out: "Guys, it's time for truth or dare!" she squealed excitedly. I suspected she was a little tipsy, her movements exaggerated. Next to her was her boyfriend, I think his name was Beckendorf, who rolled his eyes. I groaned inwardly, but a lot of other people looked excited. "Everyone who's playing come in a circle!"

I wasn't going to go, but Piper and Reyna pulled me. I protested, but they didn't really give me a choice.

Great. Just great.

"Ok, I'll start," Silena said, after quite a few people gathered in a circle. I spotted Thalia, trying to catch her eye, but she wouldn't look at me. "Hmm… let's see… Ah! Percy!" I realized Percy was playing, and my heart dropped for some reason. It must have been because I didn't want to embarrass myself in front of the person I tutored. "Truth or dare?"

"Truth," Percy said, ignoring Connor's groan.

"Do you like anyone right now?"

Percy was silent for a second, before shrugging. "I guess I do." Half the single girls in the crowd exchanged excited looks. Reyna just snorted at them.

Percy looked through the circle. _Please don't pick me_ , I thought. His eyes passed me, but luckily he seemed to take sympathy on me and chose Leo.

Soon Leo had stuffed his shoe down his trousers, glaring at Travis all the while, who had given Percy the idea to dare him that.

To take revenge, Leo dared Travis to kiss someone he liked. Travis blushed, before going up to Katie Gardner, who was turning red as he approached, and pecking her on the lips.

Silena squealed, and Katie just coughed, trying to hide her embarrassment. But as I looked at her, I wondered if she liked Travis back.

The game continued for a while. Piper had to answer if she'd ever cheated when she'd been in a relationship (to which she said no) and Drew answered the same question… with a different response, staring spitefully at Percy the whole time, her drink shaking in her hand. Reyna had to sit on Ethan's lap for the whole game, as dared by Drew (I saw Matt look at the scene, disappointed).

Reyna then asked Thalia, "Truth or Dare?"

"After the dare you just got?" Thalia smirked. "Truth, please."

Reyna grinned. "Have you ever, or maybe still are, been in love with someone?"

Thalia went silent for a second. I waited for her to say no, to scoff, but she surprised me. Instead, she said, "Yes."

What? Thalia had been in love? Or was she currently in love with someone? How could I not know this? I made a mental note to ask her.

Suddenly Thalia turned to me, smiling, trying to get the attention off her. "Annabeth," she said loudly, "truth or dare?"

I debated what I wanted to choose. None of the dares seemed appealing so far, and who knew what Thalia would dare me to do. But then again, I didn't want to answer a truth.

I don't how long I was deciding what to choose for, but apparently it was a while, because Thalia rolled her eyes and said, "You've taken too long. You have to do both."

I stared at her. "That's not a rule!"

Silena smiled. "Actually, it is. Makes it more fun." She shrugged apologetically. I scowled. Thalia grinned triumphantly.

"Ok, so for your truth… do you currently have a crush on anyone?"

I was about to say no, like I'd been telling Piper, when suddenly I saw Luke, a few places away from Percy, who was looking intently. Suddenly I wanted to say yes.

I mean technically I did have a crush on Luke… so, "Yes, " I said.

Piper gave me a look, but I ignored it.

"Okay, now for your dare," Thalia gave a wicked grin, "I'm gonna take Drew's lead and dare you to sit on…" she scanned the circle, before spotting Percy. My heart fell. "Percy's lap."

In that moment, I hated Thalia. A lot. There was some more laughter, more than it had been with Reyna because I wasn't dating Percy. Half the girls looked at me murderously. I got up and walked towards him awkwardly. He was just smirking, like he didn't mind, but found it funny. Which he probably did.

A few minutes later, and I was sitting on his lap. I was leaning awkwardly on him, and I knew he was laughing at me. I know it's weird, but he was surprisingly comfortable. He smelled like an ocean breeze.

Ignoring my thoughts, I turned on Silena, who was the reason I had to answer a truth and do a dare. I dared her to do a handstand for thirty seconds.

"Seriously, wise girl?" Percy said into my ear. "That's the best dare you have?"

"Hey, blood's meant to rush to your head. It's uncomfortable," I defended myself lamely. Grover snorted.

"You're still such a nerd, Annabeth," he teased.

"It's cute," Percy whispered in my ear, when Grover stopped listening. I was glad Percy couldn't see my face, because I blushed.

After Silena did that with ease, she grinned. "Okay, now my dare is to the whole group, and I can do that since it's my party." Silena went to the ipod docking station and changed the song to a slower one. She grabbed Beckendorf, who kissed her, and they started slow dancing. "Everyone has to get a dance partner and slow dance!"

A lot of people groaned, but there was also a murmur of excitement as people paired up. By the time Percy and I had gotten up, most people were with someone. Percy shrugged.

"Hey, wise girl, I guess I'm with you." He gave me a lopsided grin, and for some reason I accepted.

Let me get this straight: I hate dancing. I'm not good at it, and I try to avoid it. Percy seemed to be able to tell.

"What's wrong, wise girl?" Percy said teasingly. "Don't know how to dance?"

"Shut up." I glared at him.

"Hey, it's okay," he told me, "just follow my lead."

"You're good at this," I noted.

Percy shrugged. "My mom taught me from when I was young. She said it was an essential skill. What about yours?"

"My mom never really cared," I muttered. Percy seemed to sense that was a sore area for me, so he changed the topic.

"You look nice," he complimented me. I blushed. "But are you sure you aren't cold?"

"No, I'm not," I realized.

"You're probably still warm from when you sat in my lap," Percy said casually. I whacked him, and he laughed. "I was only joking!"

"You should respect your tutor more, Seaweed Brain," I told him.

He just grinned.

"Hey, what's that?" I saw a path on the other side of the garden, leading into the bushes. The area was closed off, so I didn't know what it was.

Percy shrugged. "Let's go find out." Not giving me chance to answer, he lead me to that side of the garden, which was empty. We walked through the path, and entered a small area. There was a pond in the centre of it, a statue of Cupid spitting out water. Music wafted into the area.

"Silena's house is… something," I said, shaking my head.

"Yeah," Percy agreed. We were about to leave, when suddenly the music changed.

 _When your legs don't work like they used to before…_

 _And I can't sweep you off of your feet…_

I recognized that song. It was Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. The song Percy and I had sung along to in his car. By the expression on his face I could tell he remembered it too.

We shared a grin.

"Come on, we have to dance to this." He held out his hand, and blushing (I was doing that a lot. I needed to pull myself together), I took it. Luckily we were out of sight from everyone else in the party.

Soon we were moving to the song, and I found myself singing the lyrics softly the lyrics as we swayed.

 _And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways…_

I was really close to Percy. I could smell his sea-like aroma, could see the flecks in his green eyes.

 _Maybe just the touch of a hand…_

A part of my brain was telling me that I shouldn't be doing this, that we were just friends and friends don't do this, but another part of me didn't care.

 _Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars…_

I barely even registered it when he leaned in and pressed his lips to mine. We were kissing wildly, and I noticed small things, like the softness of his lips and how I was pressing into him and—

And suddenly he pulled back, his eyes widening in realization. "Oh, um—" Percy fumbled. For once, he seemed to be at a loss for words. "I shouldn't have done that, Annabeth. I'm sorry."

He walked out of the fountain area, and turned out of sight into the main garden.

 _Maybe we found love right where we are…_

I just stood there, trying to process what had happened. I seemed to vaguely remember that he had kissed me… and then he had left.

I stayed there for a minute, alone. Percy had just left me, and there was only one thought running through my head. _Had I actually just kissed Percy Jackson?_

* * *

 ** _So..._ **

**Wonder what will happen next, huh? We found out that Thalia is the mystery girl and of course, a Percabeth kiss.**

 **Don't forget to check my other fics!**

 **Oh, yeah, and before I forget: the song (like it said) was Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran. I (obviously) don't own the song, but I used some lyrics. Just putting this in here to make it clear...**

 **Predictions? I hope to get the next chapter up quickly, but school is starting so that will be more difficult :( Hopefully within a week, it really depends on reviews. More reviews motivate me to write, so, if you want a quicker update, it's simple:**

 **Review! Till next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Sorry it's been slightly longer than usual... I was pretty busy, and I kind of struggled to get myself to write this chapter. It's pretty short, a lot shorter than usual, but I just wanted to get something out to you guys.**

 **Wonderlandian Me: Thanks, and I'm glad I surprised you with the last chapter :)**

 **Vel394: Thanks for your review! Your predictions may be more accurate than you realise (hint: this chapter)...**

 **Unknown: Wow, cool predictions, but you'll have to wait and see whether they turn out to be true! My lips (or rather my keyboard) is sealed.**

 **And thanks to alohasunset and a wise brain girl for their reviews too! Thanks if you reviewed, please review if you like the story!**

 **Oh yeah, if you like Harry Potter, you can check out my stories Dumbledore's Tale (recently started!), or Colliding Worlds (that's a crossover and also has Percabeth).**

 **Like I said, chapter's pretty short. Not my best, but it's important. Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12

 **Percy**

I know, I know.

I'm an idiot.

You're probably what wondering what was going through my head when I decided to kiss Annabeth. Well, I'll let you in on a little secret: the answer is _nothing_. I really wasn't thinking.

I had just been dancing with Annabeth, and I hadn't been flirting or anything: I had just been enjoying myself. And then the song had come on, the song we had sung to together… and I leaned in to kiss her.

Don't get me wrong, the kiss was great. It was what came after that was bad. I had made some excuses, apologized, and left.

So here I was, having just kissed Annabeth, my mind racing and heart beating fast. I moved over to Grover, who was laughing with some of Silena's friends.

"Hey, Grover," I told him. "I need to go."

"But we've only been here like two hours!" Grover protested. I looked at him beseechingly. He seemed to realize I was desperate. "Fine," he mumbled, "I'll get my keys, but you owe me."

I grinned at him. Grover was a pretty good friend. I quickly dashed to Beckendorf and asked him to thank Silena for me (I knew if I talked to Silena myself she wouldn't let me leave) before making my way to the road. I collapsed in Grover's car, groaning.

I felt like a jerk. I _was_ a jerk. I had just kissed Annabeth and left her.

"Dude, what happened back there?" Grover asked.

"Nothing," I muttered. "Just wanted to leave."

* * *

I didn't see Annabeth for a while. There was only a week left of school before the holidays, and we had already agreed there was no need for tuition in that final week. I saw her once or twice, but I didn't talk to her.

In our History class, I had moved to the other side of the classroom. Annabeth didn't try and talk to me. She probably regretted the kiss, didn't want to spend time with me anymore.

But I couldn't help stealing glances her in History, the way her blonde hair fell, curtaining her off, as she scribbled down notes, the way she bit her lips in concentration, the way her grey eyes sparkled when she got something right.

I didn't have a crush on her. I couldn't. She was Annabeth Chase, my tutor, not to mention the girl whose heart I had been challenged to break. I couldn't have a crush on her, right?  
I was getting less and less sure.

I kept imagining what it was like if we were going out. If Annabeth was my girlfriend…

But, no. I was Percy Jackson, player of Goode High, as I was so kindly reminded on the second last day of term.

I had been walking home, school over, the sun on my face, when a voice called out.

"I hope you're working on Luke's challenge, Jackson."

I whirled round to see Ethan Nakamura. He was standing a few metres behind me, his dark hair short and his eyes trained on me.

"What's it to you?" I asked. The sidewalk was empty but for us.

"Luke asked me to send you a message," Ethan said casually, "He was otherwise occupied himself."

"Shouldn't you be with Reyna?" I shot back. I still couldn't believe Reyna was going out with this jerk, but he knew he acted all nice in front of others.

Ethan shrugged. "Anyway, Luke asked me to remind you that you have till the end of the year to break Miss Chase's heart," he said mockingly.

"I know," I said quietly.

"So you also know that you should get a move on." Ethan swaggered forward. "And if Luke doesn't see progress… I think we both know what he'll do. He mentioned something about your—"

I stepped forward. "Shut up, Nakamura."

He smirked. "Hit a soft spot, did I?" He turned around. "Well, Jackson, I'll probably be seeing you around."

I watched till he was out of sight, before continuing the walk home.

Could I break Annabeth's heart? I'd broken girls' hearts before, hadn't I?

I knew I hadn't really, though. Those girls had never cared enough in the first place. There had only been one girl…

But I didn't have a choice. Luke was serious. I would have to break Annabeth's heart, but I knew I wouldn't be able to while I was still confused.

Over the holidays, I told myself, I would forget about Annabeth. And then when I came back to school after Christmas, I would do what needed doing.

* * *

Turns out, my plan to forget about Annabeth over the holidays didn't exactly work.

Thanksgiving came and went: our house went into festival mode. My mom always loved the festive period, and we tended to go overboard, but I didn't really mind. And Tyson _loved_ it.

The holidays itself went by in a flash, in a frenzy of festivity, work (everyone was focusing on upcoming college applications) and meeting with friends.

And yet even through all of this, I couldn't stop thinking about Annabeth. I missed our tutoring sessions, the way she laughed and rolled her eyes whenever I did something stupid. But things could never work between us.

Right?

When school started again, I texted Annabeth. My thumb hovered over the send button for a few minutes before I finally built up the courage to press it.

 **Can't do any tutor sessions this week. Sorry. –Percy**

I felt like a jerk. I kissed her, and this was the first time I had even sent her a message in a month?

But I knew Annabeth wouldn't want to be with me. She deserved better, anyway. Someone who wasn't a player, like me, someone who was like her, clever and actually had prospects.

Plus, if she wanted something to happen, she would've done something. The fact she hadn't tried to speak to me… it told me everything I needed to know.

So even after a week back at school, I'd still had no contact with Annabeth. I tried to act normal in front of my friends, but I guess I didn't do as good a job as I thought, because Grover approached me one morning.

"Hey, dude, you alright?" he asked, as I stuffed some stuff in my locker.

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"You just seemed…off, last week," Grover said, a tinge of worry in his voice.

"Well, I'm fine. Just busy with work," I told him.

"Are you sure? Because—"

"I'm fine, Grover," I interrupted him. He seemed to sense my mood, because he changed the subject.

"Oh, look, there's Piper, and Silena—and there's Annabeth and her new boyfriend, should we go and say—"

"What?" I asked, slamming my locker in surprise.

"What, what?" he asked back, confused.

"Annabeth and her new—boyfriend?" I choked.

"Yeah, didn't you know?" Grover asked, raising an eyebrow. "They started going out yesterday, look."

I turned around, and sure enough, there was Annabeth, her blonde hair tied into a ponytail, laughing at something Piper had said.

And next to her was her new boyfriend. I recognized his tall, lean figure, his shaggy brown hair.

Annabeth was going out with Matt Dyson.

* * *

 **Good place to end the chapter, no?**

 **Sorry if you thought Percabeth would be smooth sailing after the kiss... I've still got some more left up my sleeve.**

 **I don't know when the next chapter will be up, hopefully one week since I've got quite a few ideas for the chapter, but shouldn't be more than two weeks like this one! Please review before you go, they always speed up my update time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Sorry about the last cliffhanger. Well, not really, but at least the next chapter is here!**

 **Thanks to all who reviewed, I don't have time to respond but I read all of them and thank you! Especially to awynn22 for all of your kind reviews!**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13

 **Annabeth**

Saying I was confused would be an understatement.

It had taken me a few minutes to process what had happened at the party.

It had taken me a week to process what a _jerk_ Percy Jackson was.

Sure, I already knew that. I knew he was a player, I knew it, but I guess a small part of me thought he'd changed. And it hadn't just been me. Even Piper and Hazel had mentioned how much better he had seemed, less of a jerk and more relaxed.

But nope. That was probably all an act. Because Percy had kissed me in that party, and then he had proceeded to ignore me.

He'd probably just ticked me off his list of girls then moved on, I thought bitterly.

I knew I shouldn't care. But during the party… it had felt so real. And I _had_ thought that Percy and I were friends now. We argued a lot during tuition, but I enjoyed spending time with him.

Hadn't he felt the same way?

Evidently not, because now he was avoiding me. Despite the holiday, he had texted me saying that he couldn't make tuition this week. What was his problem? Could he really not face me?

Of course, I wasn't completely innocent myself, mainly due to one reason: Matt Dyson.

* * *

We had only been back for a few days, when on Thursday Matt approached me in Calculus.

"Hey," I greeted him. He smiled at me, and there was mixture of excitement and nervousness in his eyes.

"Hey. Listen, I need to ask you something."

"Sure, what?" I asked, as I started to work on some of the problems Mr. Bing had set us.

"You know… about my situation with Reyna?" Matt asked, not looking me in the eye. There was a blush on his face.

"You mean you have a crush on her but she's currently going out with Ethan Nakamura?" I asked. He winced. "Sorry."

"No, no, it's fine. Yeah, that."

"Look," I said, "I still feel bad about that day in the cafeteria. I have some friends, I can set you up on a date—"

Matt shook his head. "Actually that's not what I was thinking." I shot him a curious look. "Ok, so over the holidays, I was thinking, and I still like Reyna, but I never got the chance to tell her that, because she started going out with Ethan first." I nodded slowly, still confused as to what he was getting at. "So, I was thinking, maybe I just need a way for Reyna to notice me. Maybe then she'd actually notice me, maybe there would be a chance," Matt said hopefully.

"How are you going to do that?" I asked, frowning.

"Well…" Matt took a deep breath. "I heard this thing where people only realize they had a crush on someone else when that someone else goes out with another someone else who that someone may or may not really like but often simply gets that other someone to realize that all along they had a crush not on any someone but that one," he said in one breath.

"Huh?" I asked, though I had a sinking feeling I'd understood.

"Jealousy," Matt told me. "If Reyna perhaps thought I was going out with someone, she might, you know, realize she likes me."

Understanding dawned on me. "Nuh-uh. No way."

"Please, Annabeth?" Matt pleaded.

"You want me to go out with you?" I asked loudly. A few people gave us weird looks.

"Keep your voice down," Matt reminded me. "And it will only be fake."

"You want me to fake go out with you?" I hissed.

"Well… yeah."

"In what universe would that work?" I asked.

"I don't know," Matt admitted. "But it might! If she sees you going out with me, she might _actually_ notice me. And I feel like if that happens, I could do it. I could become friends with her; make her realize what a jerk Ethan is. I just… I really like her," Matt said, a tired tone in his voice.

I felt a rush of sympathy for Matt.

"I know," I said quietly. "But what would we even do?"

"You know, just pretend to go out. We wouldn't have to _do_ anything. Please, Annabeth, it wouldn't be a big deal, you would just be helping me out."

"I don't know…" I trailed off. I did want to help Matt, but is this the way I wanted to do it?

Not to mention everyone would think I was in a relationship: one person specifically.

But as I thought about it more, it wasn't my fault. So what if Percy thought I was going out with Matt? He hadn't said anything to me in weeks now. He probably wouldn't even care.

"Please, Annabeth?" Matt asked hopefully, seeing the doubt on my face.

"Fine," I sighed. "I'll do it. I'll be your fake-girlfriend… but only because I think you and Reyna would be good together. Now this plan of yours better work."

* * *

"Are you serious, Annabeth?" Piper asked.

It had taken the whole weekend for Matt and I to agree: on Monday, we would go to school pretending to be a couple.

We met outside the school gates early.

"Ready?" Matt asked, smiling.

I nodded. "Yeah."

Watching people's reactions was hilarious.

Piper's eyes widened, and immediately started attacking us with questions.

"How? What? When?" she demanded.

"Let them breathe, Piper," Hazel told her, but she looked just as surprised.

"He asked me out last week," I told them, giving them our rehearsed story. "We've been on a few dates, and now we're—well, you know…"

"A couple?" Calypso shrieked.

"Yeah," I said, a blush appearing on my cheeks. I was not a great liar.

And then, just to make things worse, Grover, Percy and Jason came over.

"Annabeth," Grover greeted me. I smiled at him, before my eyes passed over to Percy.

For the first time in a while, he was actually looking at me. His green eyes pierced into me, indecipherable. For a second, I thought I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes. But that was impossible, right? There was no reason for me to feel guilty. It's not like we were involved.

It was just one stupid kiss.

Jason smirked. "So it appears you have some surprises, Annabeth."

"Oh, shut up, Grace," I told him, not in a mood to deal with him.

"Treat her well, Matt," Grover joked, giving a pointed look to Matt, who just gave an awkward grin. Of course Grover knew I could more than look after myself.

"Well, I have to go to my first lesson," I said, eager to escape this scene. Everyone was standing there, not really sure what to do. I picked up my bag, and had taken a step before remembering I should probably do something couple-y now that we were, well, a supposed couple.

Then again, Reyna wasn't here. There was no one to make jealous, was there?  
Was there?

For some reason, I was acutely aware of Percy's presence, watching the scene intently. He hadn't said a word, but his features were tight. Was he jealous?

No, I thought. But I still took a few steps forward, and planted a swift kiss on Matt's cheek, much to his surprise.

As I walked away, I felt some vicious satisfaction in seeing a shocked expression on Percy's face. Not that I cared. Not that that had anything to do with what I had done, of course.

* * *

The rest of the day was… odd. News spread quickly, but luckily not too many people cared. A few kids seem surprised, but ultimately no one seemed to think much of it.

Not including my friends, of course.

Lunchtime was not fun. Reyna was there, and a minute after she had sat down, I stared at Matt, hoping my message was coming across. If we were fake going out just for Reyna's attention, he better do something.

Luckily, Matt approached.

"Hey," he greeted me, not even looking at Reyna. I smiled at him. "I'm going to go sit over there, okay?"

"Sure thing," I said casually. This time it was Matt who gave me a kiss on the cheek. His lips barely touched me, but my hair concealed that.

As he walked away, Piper's mouth fell open again, and Reyna gave me a strange look.

"You're going out with… Matt Dyson?" Reyna asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah, he's cool," I told her, "and he's pretty handsome, he's on the swim team. Clever, too," I added, trying to make him look good.

"I know, I've seen him at some meets."

"So you've heard of him?" I asked, trying to sound casual, and not like I was trying to gain information in order to set up her with my fake-boyfriend.

"Yeah," Reyna shrugged. "Good for you."

"It could be good for _you_ ," I muttered.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing, nothing," I said hastily.

"Anyway, I have to go," Reyna said, "Ethan wants to meet me in the gym hall." We said goodbye to her. Reyna gave me a small smile before we left. "Have fun with Matt."

I nodded. As Reyna walked away, Piper looked at me.

"So Matt was the one you had a crush on? You know, when you admitted you had a crush on someone in Silena's party?"

"What? No," I responded, absent-mindedly, before realizing my error. "I mean yes. Well—yeah, I guess."

Calypso glanced at me. "Annabeth, are you okay?"

"Do you actually like Matt?" Thalia asked.

"Of course," I said quickly, my face turning red.

"Really?" Hazel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It was just so sudden," Thalia insisted, "and I'm still offended you didn't tell me."  
"Yeah," Piper agreed, "something's up—"

"Okay, okay!" I said quickly, giving up. "I'll tell you, considering you're about to figure it out anyway." I told them Matt's plan, and why we were fake-going out. It didn't really matter if they knew.

"Matt has a crush on Reyna?" Piper asked, surprised. I nodded.

"Yeah, so don't tell Reyna about this."

"That's so sweet," Hazel said dreamily, "and it's nice you're helping him, Annabeth. I think Matt would be good for Reyna."

"Yeah, but what about Ethan?" Calypso reminded her.

"I don't think it will work," Thalia said thoughtfully. I looked at her. She was eating her food slowly, rather than gulping it down for once.

"I've been meaning to talk to you," I told her. Thalia raised her eyebrow. "During the truth or dare game, you said you're in love. Care to explain?"

"I didn't say that," Thalia said shortly. "I was asked had I ever been, or still am, in love. I never said I was still in love."

"Yes, but when have you been in love?" I pushed her.

Thalia just stood up. "I have to go."

Piper glanced at me sympathetically. "I'm sure she'll tell you in her own time."

I wasn't so sure.

* * *

The week came and went, and the Monday I was dreading finally arrived. For the first time Percy hadn't cancelled tuition. I was meeting him after school.

I didn't know what was up with Percy. In the last week, he seemed to have returned fully to what he was like when I first met him. Whenever I was in the hall, walking with Matt, I saw him flirting with one girl or another.

I mentioned it to Piper one day when we were at our lockers.

"I know." Piper frowned. "He was getting so much better, more like how he used to be, you know what I mean? But know… he's back to flirting," Piper admitted, "and just being more of a—well, you know. Something's changed. You're still tutoring him, right?"

"I haven't for a while," I told her, "but we're having another session tonight."  
The rest of the day passed quickly, but there was only one thought on my mind. Piper had said Percy had been becoming more normal, back to how he used to be. But when I had arrived at Goode, he had been a jerk.

What had changed?

Finally, school ended. A sinking feeling in my stomach, I picked up my bag and left the gates of the school, my feet walking to the park of their own accord.

It was time for tutoring.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that! I have big plans for the next chapter. Let's just say, we'll get the Percabeth confrontation you've all been waiting for.**

 **I'll try and update soon, but it may take a week or more. Hopefully no more than two weeks though! And I should be updating Colliding Worlds really soon as well, for those of you waiting on that.**

 **Reviews speed up my writing, so review before you go!**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hi! I'm just glad I can get this chapter out to you, I don't feel that good about it, but I thought I might as well post it. Warning: it has not been properly proof-read! (I did a basic spell-check and grammar read through, but yeah.)**

 **MAL-DaughterofChaos: I don't know if this was quick enough? Probably not. Maybe read the ending of the last chapter to jog your memory? Haha, that problem happens to me a lot too, and so that's what I do. :p**

 **Percabeth 101: Don't worry, I have no plans currently to discontinue this story!**

 **No-time-for-much-else-must-say-enjoy-the-chapter.**

* * *

Chapter 14

 **Percy**

To say I wasn't looking forward to tuition was an understatement. More than once I had considered texting Annabeth to cancel, but I couldn't do that again. I had to face her, once and for all.

But the fact she was going out with Matt (who was a pretty nice guy, not easy to hate, unfortunately) just made things so awkward. We'd seen each other at school, but we hadn't talked about the kiss.

I guess a part of me was hurt that she would do that. And I know that was crazy, because if anything it was my fault, I had ignored her… and yet, I still felt it.

Not to mention the fact that Matt was going out with Annabeth had meant Ethan had warned me I should get a move on. But truth be told, I didn't care about that now. I would figure out how to deal with Luke later, but I couldn't break Annabeth's heart. Not that I would ever have the opportunity.

So, backpack slung onto my shoulders, I walked through the school hallways, deliberately a few minutes late so I didn't bump into her on the walk.

On the way, my phone buzzed. I checked it, but it was just a text from Lacy, a girl I had been flirting with.

Okay, I admit it. Ever since Annabeth had been going out with Matt, I had started, for completely unrelated reasons, flirting around with girls again. But so what?

Five minutes later, I had arrived at our bench in the park.

She was sat there, blonde curls hanging down from her head as she sketched on a piece of paper. The fact she looked so good didn't make me feel any better. My throat dry, and my stomach a mess, I walked up to her.

"Hey," I said, and she started in surprise, "sorry I'm late."

"It's okay," she responded, clearing her throat as I sat down. "So you have a physics test next week, right?" I nodded. "Work on these questions then, they should be good practice."

Soon the only sound was my pencil scratching on paper. The air between us was practically shimmering with awkwardness. I knew we were both thinking about the kiss, about the fact this was the first time we had properly spoken.

Ten minutes passed, and I was struggling with the problems. My academic performance had slipped a lot recently. For a while it had been really good, but every since I had paused tuition it hadn't been going well.

Every once in a while my phone buzzed (it was Lacy). I tried to ignore it, but the texts kept coming. Eventually, Annabeth glared to me.

"Can you turn that stupid thing off?" she snapped.

I blinked. "Okay. Jeez, what's up with you?"

"It's just annoying that all of your playthings are texting you while I'm tutoring you," Annabeth said scathingly.

"Jealous, are we?" I shot back.

Annabeth's mouth fell open, and I knew immediately I'd crossed a line. "You are such a jerk," she breathed. "I can't believe I ever thought—"

"Thought what, huh?" I challenged her. My brain was screaming at me to stop, to just apologize, but my mouth moved of it's own accord.

"That you were okay!" Annabeth jumped out of her seat, fury in her eyes. "But no, you just go straight back to flirting with girls right after you _kissed_ me—"

"What about you?" I asked incredulously. "You're the one who started going out with Matt Dyson—"

Annabeth's eyes flashed dangerously. "Matt? You think—" Annabeth gave a bitter laugh. "You're unbelievable. You're the one who ignored me for weeks, after you kissed me, Percy. There, I said it, since it's not like you were _ever_ going to talk about it!"

"Annabeth—" I began, but she cut me off.

"No, Percy. I thought maybe you were okay. I was your friend, and then you kissed me, and what? You refused to talk to me, you cancelled tuition, and you have the nerve to ask me about Matt? You don't even understand half of it."

I didn't say anything as Annabeth picked up her bag, and left without saying another word. Because what could I say?

It was better for both of us is she left.

But then why did I feel so miserable?

* * *

I walked into school next morning with apprehension in my stomach. Everything just felt _wrong_ , a sense of disquiet that I couldn't quite place my finger on.

As I walked up the steps, a girl bounded up to me. I remembered her vaguely—Alice, maybe?

"Percy!" she said enthusiastically. "Last week was _so_ fun. I was thinking, we should get together again some time." She giggled.

"Um, maybe," I said, brushing her off. I didn't feel like flirting. In fact, right now, I wished I could take back everything I had done in the past week.

I managed to make it through the rest of the day. It was at the end of the day that things started _happening_.

Jason and I were walking through the halls, when we heard shouting around the corner. Was that Reyna?

"Get lost," she yelled, "and I hope I never have to see you again, you jerk."

Jason and I exchanged looks. We ran over to the noise, and saw a crowd of people gathered around Reyna. At the end of the corridor, I briefly saw Ethan making his way out of the school gates.

"Reyna, what's wrong?" I asked.

"He cheated on me," Reyna said bitterly, "with Drew."

"Ethan? And Drew?" I asked, a sinking feeling in my stomach. Reyna nodded.

"I can't believe I ever trusted him," she spat. I felt sympathy rush through me. I knew what it was like to be cheated on, and I felt anger at Ethan, and Drew too.

Jason clenched his fists. Before he could do anything, Reyna choked.

"I'm so stupid," she muttered, "I thought maybe I'd finally found someone—"

"Come on," Piper said firmly, and taking Reyna's arm guided her to the bathroom, where no doubt Piper would comfort her.

"I'm going to—" Jason cursed. I knew he was a close friend with Reyna, and he must have been mad at Ethan right now.

"Calm down," Frank advised, who had appeared next to us.

"I just can't believe he would do that," Jason scowled. "I would never, ever do that to Piper. I wouldn't think about hurting her. I need to go find that jerk…"

Jason stormed off before I could stop him. Frank and I exchanged looks.

"I'll go after him," Frank said.

Soon I was alone in the corridor, and thinking about what had just happened, what Jason had said.

 _I wouldn't think about hurting her._

That's exactly what I had done to Annabeth.

I needed to find her. I had to tell her how sorry I was. That was why I had felt awful the whole day, and I didn't care if she was going out with Matt, I needed to set things right.

I ran out of the school grounds. I knew where she would be.

* * *

Sure enough, she was walking home through the park. I spotted her quickly, and could've laughed when I realized she happened to be the picnic table where she tutored me.

"Annabeth!" I called. She turned around, and her eye's registered surprise.

"Percy," she said, her tone guarded. "What are you doing here?"

"Annabeth," I took a breath. It was now or never. "I'm sorry."

Annabeth's face changed. "Percy—"

"No, listen, please," I told her. "Ethan cheated on Reyna."

"Oh," Annabeth said, and I saw shock flitting across her face.

"It made me think," I continued. "I was cheated on before." Annabeth didn't say anything, but I could see her mind whirring. "It was my first relationship, and I thought we were something special, but she cheated on me." The memory had long since faded, but the effects of _that_ day were still with me. "Ever since then, last summer…" I exhaled. "I felt like I couldn't trust anyone. I just messed around, never getting emotionally attached." Of course, there was another part to that story, one that no one knew… but that I couldn't say out loud.

"Percy," Annabeth repeated, her eyes full of comprehension, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"And then I met you," I told her, not stopping. I was telling someone the truth for the first time, and it felt good. "At first, I was just messing around, but I realized I enjoyed being with you. And then, at the party, after I kissed you… I was scared. I guess I just thought that maybe nothing could happen, because it was me, and I thought you deserved better, so I ran away. And I know it was cowardly, and I'm sorry."

"That's—why?" Annabeth responded slowly. I nodded.

"And Annabeth, I know you're going out with Matt, and I'm happy for you. As long as you're happy, I'm okay. I'm sorry, for being a jerk about it, for everything."

And I meant it. I realized Annabeth was important to me, and I didn't want for things to just be like how they were before, with her hating me and me being a player.

Annabeth smiled. Why was she smiling?

"Percy, I'm not actually going out with Matt."

"You're not—what?" I asked, her words not registering. Annabeth explained everything to me, how she was only going out with Matt to get Reyna to notice him.

"Of course, you were too much of a Seaweed Brain to realise," Annabeth snorted. My heart lifted at hearing her call me Seaweed Brain again, at what she had just told me.

"So… you're single?" I asked her. She nodded.

"Why?" she teased, raising an eyebrow innocently.

"Because I'd hate to think I'd let you get away," I told her, my confidence growing. I grinned, walking up to her and putting my arms around her waist.

"I'd hate to think that too, Seaweed Brain," she whispered. "And I forgive you. I'm sorry about what happened to you—"

"It's okay," I said truthfully.

"So you liked me, huh?" Annabeth asked innocently.

"Well, technically, I still do," I said, "So if you've forgiven me… does that mean—"

I was cut off by Annabeth pressing her lips against mine. My brain melted into my shoes.

"Yes," Annabeth said, "it does."

* * *

 **So, that happened.**

 **What did you think? I'm not sure how I felt about it, it didn't go how I imagined it... but I've got some awesome plans for the story now. I can't wait to write it!**

 **Please review telling me what you thought about the Percabeth and the ending, they'll always speed up my update!**


	15. Chapter 15

**I updated within two weeks! *cheer* Sorry updates are taking longer but I'm quite busy, so it will probably be like this for a while. But, as my way of apologising, you get a long(ish) chapter!**

 **No time to respond to reviews, unfortunately, but thanks to all who reviewed. I enjoyed reading some of your freakouts (that sounded evil. Eh.)**

 **P.S. This story isn't finished yet! I've still got a lot of plot ideas left, and there's a lot that isn't near being resolved. So don't worry!**

* * *

Chapter 15

 **Annabeth**

Yeah, maybe I was crazy. I had just kissed Percy Jackson, but the truth was, I didn't regret it. I had finally admitted it: I had feelings for him.

After we kissed in the park, I broke off, suddenly realizing we were in public and that I had to pick up Bobby and Matthew from pre-school.

"I have to go," I told him, slightly breathless. His eyes widened in surprise.

"Oh," he said, and I swore I could hear disappointment. "Well, what about—"

"I'm sorry, but I'm really late," I told him, cutting him off, "I need to pick up my brothers." On impulse I kissed him lightly, and his grin re-appeared.

"Ok, um, bye!" he yelled as I raced off.

My mind was racing nearly as fast as my heart as I dashed to pre-school. I was still in shock. Somehow it didn't seem real. Not only had I forgiven Percy, we had kissed. He had admitted he liked me.

Of course, then I had rushed off. Where did that leave us now?

Soon I was at the pre-school centre, still slightly dazed. I walked into the building, and was greeted by a smiling receptionist.

"I'm picking up Matthew and Bobby," I told her.

As I talked to the receptionist, I realized that I knew the person behind me.

"Mr. Blofis!" I said, in surprise. It wasn't very common to run in to your teacher… not to mention Percy's stepfather. He was looking tired.

"Hi, Annabeth." He smiled at me. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm picking up my brothers. What about you?" I asked politely.

"I'm picking up my son, Tyson," Paul responded. I remembered Percy telling me about his younger brother. "I told Percy I would pick him up today."

Suddenly Matthew and Bobby came running out, and I hugged both of them. Another boy was with them, with shaggy brown hair, who grinned at Paul.

"Well, Annabeth, it was nice seeing you."

"Yeah, you too, Mr. Blofis," I responded, waving. Tyson simply stared at me curiously.

* * *

For the first time I was glad that Malcolm wasn't at home, because if he was, he would immediately be able to tell what was up with me.

I was in my room, lying on my bed, trying to read a book but really just thinking about that afternoon.

What happened now? When I went in to school tomorrow, what did I say to him? Sure, we'd admitted feelings for each other, but technically I was still going out with Matt. Would Percy even want to go out with me?

Probably not, I thought, slightly bitterly. After all, he had a reputation to uphold.

I was still over-thinking things when my phone started ringing, the theme "Fireflies" by Owl City, one of my favourite songs.

"Hello?" I picked up immediately, assuming it was Thalia, not even bothering to check the caller ID.

"Hey," a voice responded from the other end of the line. "It's Percy."

I nearly dropped the phone in surprise.

"Oh, uh, I mean, hi Percy," I responded, trying to sound casual and failing. "What's up?"

"Nothing much," he said, and I could've sworn I heard a tinge of nervousness in his voice. "Listen, I was thinking about what happened this afternoon, and—"

"It's okay if you want to pretend it never happened," I said quickly. Nice going, Annabeth, I thought.

Percy gave a small laugh. "Actually, no, I was going to ask if you—well, if you want to go on a date."

What?

"Oh, yeah, sure," I responded, smiling. "When?"

"Well I was thinking this Saturday—"

"I can't do Saturday," I remembered, and disappointment rushed through me. "I've got to go to my cousin's house."

"How about Sunday?" Percy suggested.

"Sunday works for me."

"Cool," Percy said happily.

"But, Seaweed Brain, where are we going?" I reminded him.

I could hear his grin over the phone. "Leave that to me, Wise Girl. Leave that to me."

* * *

The rest of the week passed quickly, as I waited for Sunday to come. I saw Percy briefly in the halls or in class, but the most we got to do is share a smile. Everything was so busy, especially since the school was trying to prepare us for college applications.

"Where do you think you're going to apply?" Piper demanded. "And for what?"

"I'm applying to Caltech, definitely," I responded, "And to major in architecture."

"Why Caltech?" Reyna asked. She seemed fine now, a few days on from her breakup, but it was clear she was still hurting. "NYU has a great architecture program, and so does Colombia. They're a lot closer"

I nodded. It was true, NYU's architecture program seemed fantastic, as was Colombia's and I had wanted to go to either. But then mom had told me she had gone to Caltech. "I'll apply, sure, but my mum went to Caltech," I told her, "and she said it's amazing."

She'd said more than that, I remembered, with a slight glow.

"You should go to Caltech, Annabeth," my mother had said, offhandedly. "Make me proud."

I know it was ridiculous, but I wanted to go to Caltech, where my mother went, and for once, I wanted to make her proud.

Finally the weekend came round. On Saturday we went over to Uncle Harry and Aunt Ruth's house, where Sarah and Sophie, my (step) cousins were as delightfully boring as ever.

Finally Sunday came round. I was ready by ten o'clock in the morning, which was when Percy had told me he would pick me up.

I was dressed in dark jeans and a red top. It was casual, but for once I had brushed my hair, and I didn't look like a complete mess.

The door knocked at 10:03… not like I was keeping track or anything. I quickly made my way to the door, and opened it to reveal Percy Jackson.

He wore blue jeans and a collared green t-shirt. His hair was as messy as ever, and he gave me a lopsided grin, his hands in his pockets.

"You look…" Percy trailed off.

"Yes?" I asked, confused.

"Good." He blinked. "Really, really good."

I snorted. "You look good too, Seaweed Brain."

"So you want to go?" he asked eagerly. I nodded.

"Sure, let me just say bye." I pulled my head back, and yelled, "Helen, I'm going now."

"Okay, Annabeth, have fun! And make sure when you come back to tell me all about it. And don't be afraid to come back late, I know how young love works—"

I hastily shut the door, my face burning. I regretted telling Helen I was going on a date: I was the only other girl in the house, so that meant Helen got super excited every time I mentioned a boy. "Sorry about that," I muttered. He simply smirked.

I followed him to his car, and he opened the door for me. I raised an eyebrow.

"What?" he complained. "Can't I act like a gentleman?"

"Sure, but you, a gentleman?" I asked sceptically.

"Hey, my mom always taught me to be polite." I suppressed the urge to comment about him acting like a player. I was willing to believe that Percy was changing: I was happy to give him a chance to prove he wasn't a player anymore, and so far he was doing pretty well.

Soon we were driving on the road, Percy drumming his fingers on the steering wheel happily.

"So where are we going?" I asked.

He just grinned mischievously. "You're going to have to wait and find out."

"Why can't you just tell me?"

"Because, that would ruin the surprise," Percy protested. I scowled. "So what did you do yesterday?" he asked, trying to change the topic.

"I went to my cousins'," I responded.

"Was it your dad's side or…" Percy trailed off awkwardly. I had told him that my parent's were divorced and that I had a step-mom, but that was pretty much it.

"Helen's brother," I explained. "Uncle Harry. His children, Sarah and Sophie, they're nice, but we don't really have much in common."

"So you have any other cousins?" Percy asked. I knew he was just trying to keep up conversation, but my family was something I didn't really like to talk about.

"One on my dad's side," I told him, "but he lives in Boston. I don't see him much. And none on my mom's side. She was an only child."

"And you've got three brothers, right?" Percy checked. "Unless you have some more step-siblings because your mom—"

"No, I don't," I quickly told him. "My mom's not re-married, she spends way too much time doing work," I said, slightly bitterly.

"Do you see her often?" There were a few beats of silence. "It's okay if you don't want to answer," Percy said hurriedly, "I was just—"

"No, it's okay," I told him truthfully. "I tend to only see my mom in holidays, if that. We don't exactly have the best relationship."

"I'm sorry," Percy said sincerely. I smiled at him.

"What about you?"

"Oh, my mom's great," he said eagerly. "You should meet her." I blushed, but Percy didn't seem to realise the implications of what he said. "You'd like her, everyone does."

I laughed. "Your mom sounds nice."

"She is," Percy confirmed.

"So tell me," I smirked, "if your mom's so awesome, why are you so…" I trailed off. Percy gave me a mock-hurt look.

"You wound me, Wise-girl," he said, affronted, "but if you must know," he lowered his tone to a whisper, "I get most of my genes from my dad."

I snorted. "Percy, that's not really how biology works—"

"Shh," Percy said, "no science on this trip. Especially not to where we're going."

"You haven't told me where that is!" I complained.

"And I'm not going to," Percy sang.

Needless to say, the rest of the journey was filled easily by conversation, interspersed by me trying to persuade him to tell me where we were going, to which he refused. It was fun talking to Percy. Conversation with him was so _easy_.

"You know I'm going to find out where we're going eventually," I told him.

"How?"

"Well, Seaweed Brain, we've been driving for ages, and soon enough the road signs will tell you me where your taking me."  
"Annabeth," Percy complained, "why do you have to ruin the fun?"

I smirked. "Well, it would be nice to know where we're going. I mean, how do I know you're not kidnapping me?"  
Percy raised an eyebrow. "Like I could kidnap you."

"Fair point," I shrugged. "But still, tell me where we're going."

Percy sighed. "Fine, but only because you're going to find out anyway." Percy shot me a nervous glance. "Now, don't think this is too dorky, or anything, but—" Percy paused "we're going to Disney World."

* * *

"Are you sure you don't think it's too stupid?"

"Percy, are you kidding? This is Disney World, it's awesome."

We had just entered the theme park, crowds of people around us. It was a sunny day despite the season, and in the distance I could hear shrieks from people on rollercoasters.

Percy smiled, relieved. "I knew you'd like it." I raised an eyebrow. "Okay, maybe I didn't," Percy admitted, "but I'm glad you think it's not too cheesy. What do you want to do first?"

"Magic Kingdom," I responded immediately. "That's my favourite one."

"I prefer the animal kingdom, but sure."

We got into the queue for Thunder Mountain, a sprawling rollercoaster. "I haven't been on this since forever," I told Percy.

"When was the last time you came?" he asked.

"Ages ago," I responded, "with my Dad, and Malcolm. I can barely remember it."

The queue was short, and we quickly got onto the ride. It was quicker than I remembered, and it seemed over in just a few seconds.

Percy rubbed his ears as he got out. "Those girls behind us wouldn't stop screaming," he complained.

"And you weren't?"

"I was not screaming, Wise Girl," Percy protested. "I was cheering. Because it was awesome." I snorted in disbelief. Percy pouted.

"What next?" I wondered. Percy looked at the map, and suddenly his eyes brightened.

"Under the Sea!" he cried.

"Isn't that a water ride?" I asked, unsure. "From the Little Mermaid?" He nodded.

"It's the middle of the day, and really sunny, it's perfect! Plus, everyone knows the Little Mermaid is the best movie."

"I don't want to get soaked!" I protested, rolling my eyes at his last comment.

"Please, Annabeth," Percy pleaded, his green eyes like that of a baby seal.

"You know you act like a two year old sometimes," I sighed, as we entered the queue to Under the Sea. Percy grinned.

He was about to say something, when suddenly he spotted someone. His face turned panicked, and he looked around. He grabbed a pair of sunglasses someone had left on the floor, and put them on.

"Percy, what are you doing?" I asked, slighty distracted by the fact that he looked very good in sunglasses.

"Look," Percy gestured. I looked forward in the queue, and sure enough, about thirty spaces in front us (it was a long queue) was none other than Drew Tanaka, Percy's ex-girlfriend.

"So why are you hiding?" I asked.

"I don't want her to know we're here," Percy explained. "Who knows what she'll do? She's crazy."

"If she's so crazy then why did you ever go out with her?" I made sure my tone was casual, but truthfully, I had wanted to know the answer to that question for a long time.

Percy stared into the distance, not meeting my eyes. "I never liked Drew."

"So why did you go out with her?" I pushed.

Percy snorted. "It was convenient. It kept up my reputation of a player. And it's not like Drew ever really liked me, anyway. She was just using me for popularity."

Questions flooded through me, but I kept quiet. I was pretty sure this wasn't the kind of stuff you discussed on your first date.

Suddenly the line moved forward, and I saw Ethan next to Drew. Percy must have seen too, because he cursed.

"So that's who Ethan cheated on Reyna with." Percy shook his head.

Percy must have seen the look of surprise flash across my face, because he sighed.

"Annabeth," he began, "I swear, I never cheated on anyone." I raised an eyebrow, and he continued. "I may have flirted while in a relationship, but that's because none of my relationships were _real_. None of the flirting was either. It was all just part of the whole thing, you know? Being a player, it wasn't me, but every day I would walk into the school and that would be the act I put on."

"So why did you do it?" I blurted out. "If you didn't want to, why?"

There was a minute of silence, before Percy finally spoke. "After my girlfriend cheated on me, last year… I thought that was it. No one could love me, right? I'd ruined my chance. I was angry, and so I quickly got into another relationship, and it just continued from there. I didn't know what else to do, other than just go from relationship to relationship, because, hey, I figured none of them could last."

"Percy—" I began, but he cut me off.

"I know it's stupid. I guess I never thought I could have a real relationship, so I didn't try. I gained a reputation, and it was easier than letting everyone know how I really felt, so I stuck to it. Until… well, until you came along, and I realised everything I was doing… I didn't want to do it anymore."

I didn't know what to say. Percy had just opened up to me, and I felt a rush of pity for what had happened to him. Sure, it didn't excuse his actions, but it did explain them. And if he was willing to move on, why shouldn't I be?

Percy must have got some of that from my expression, because he smiled. "Can we get back to the date now? I don't know about you, because I was having a good time."

And just like that, the moment passed. But I knew that him opening up was a good thing.

After a few minutes we saw Drew and Ethan on the ride, and we both turned the other way, just in case. Finally it was our turn.

The log only fit two people at a time, so the attendant directed Percy to the seat at the back of the log. I had to awkwardly clamber in, and adjust myself, leaning back onto him.

"I can't believe you convinced me into doing this, Seaweed Brain," I grumbled.

"How can you not like water rides?"

Before I could respond, our log shot out, water splashing everywhere.

By the end of the ride, I was thoroughly soaked.

"That was awesome," Percy grinned. "Again?"

* * *

After I had finally convinced Percy that we shouldn't go on the ride again, we decided to have lunch while drying off.

We went to a hotdog stand, and both got hotdogs. We took them to a picnic area, overlooking one of the fountains with Mickey Mouse.

We didn't see Drew again, apart from one time in the queue to Space Mountain, where we saw her walking by. Luckily, she didn't spot us: I was not in the mood to have my date ruined by Drew.

We walked by the penguin exhibit in Animal Kingdom. I stopped for a second, looking through the glass.

"They're so cute!" I exclaimed to Percy. "You know, penguins are the smallest birds that can't fly."

Percy smirked. "Penguins are cool, but they spend too much time on the land. Now seals: those are cool."

We argued about what were cooler, penguins and seals, for a good five minutes, until Percy saw an arcade. He lead me to the nearest stall, where a guy was standing, bored.

"One go for a dollar," he crowed. It was essentially a grabber arm game, with a bunch of stuffed animals and toys at the bottom, but you could only look into it from the top.

Percy pulled out a dollar from his pocket, but I stopped him. "Percy, half these games are all just scams," I told him. "You look from the top, but the glass distorts the image."

Percy shrugged. "I can try. You want a go?" I shook my head.

Percy handed the guy the note, and started controlling the arm. He descended it, going for a bear he'd chosen. He was about to grab, when I stopped him.

"It's the glass making the distance look different. Move to the left and go down," I urged him.

I was pretty good at these games, considering I understood the theory behind them. Malcolm had dared me to win at all the games in our local arcade once, so I had some practise.

Percy looked at me. "Are you sure?" I nodded. Percy listened to me, and sure enough, the grabber arm lifted the bear up.

The guy didn't look too happy, but he handed the bear over to Percy. It was a honey-coloured stuffed toy bear, and on it was a blue shirt, with the message ' _I like you BEAR-Y much!'_ written on it in green.

Percy gave me a lopsided grin as walked away. He handed me the bear. "Here. I only got it because of you."

"Thanks," I responded, taking the bear. Percy stepped forward, his eyes on mine. His eyes were so green, I noticed. Like the sea… He leaned in, as if he was about to kiss me, but before he could I spoke.

"Percy—" I tugged at the bear's shirt, "what's our—you know, status?"

"Our status?" Percy asked, confused.

"You know," I said quietly, "are we just having some fun, just friends, or are we going to be in a relationship? I don't want to rush you, or frighten you or anything," I added quickly. "There's no pressure."

"Are you sure you'd want to be in a relationship with me?" Percy smirked. "Considering my history."

"I guess I could give you a chance," I teased back.

"Well then," Percy said, but he couldn't hide his broad grin. "Can I have the bear back for a second?" I handed it to him, confused.

Suddenly Percy got on one knee, holding the bear. People walking by shot us strange looks.

"Annabeth Chase," Percy said, his eyes sparkling. "Will you be my girlfriend?" He held out the bear.

I bit back a smile. It was so cheesy, yet somehow the gesture felt meaningful. I took the bear.

"Hmm, I don't know." I pretended to think. Percy pouted. Laughing, I pulled him up, towards me, till my lips were near his. "I think I'm going to go with yes." Percy grinned at me.

"Then what are we waiting for?" Percy asked. "I want to explore the rest of Disneyland with my girlfriend."

* * *

 **Yes, it was fluffy... I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **P.S. I know that Disneyworld is not really driving distance from New York, or at least it would be more than a couple of hours (I think). So sorry for that inaccuracy, I just had to ignore it for that date to happen!**

 **Colliding Worlds will be updated soon, and the same goes for Dumbledore's Tale! I'm working on the next chapters, and they should be out soon!**

 **In the meantime, please review before you go! I'll try to update soon, but it'll probably a couple of weeks- it might be more, it might be less... but my writing definitely speeds up if you review!**


	16. Author's Note

**PLEASE READ!**

 **A quick warning: this isn't really a chapter. It does have some new writing though: bear with me!**

 **I know you guys are waiting for the next chapter, but here's the thing: I just can't find the time right now, or the motivation. I'm increasingly busy, so in the near future, it doesn't seem like I'll get much written.**

 **So, here it is: I WON'T BE UPDATING THIS STORY TILL LATE JUNE. By then, my exams will have ended and my schedule will have cleared up, and I'll be able to focus on this story again.**

 **Sorry that there will be a pause on this story: it's happening for all my stories. I'm definitely NOT giving up on this story, I want to write for it, I just can't, not now. I hope you understand!**

 **I'd planned this break, but I had intended to post this chapter before stopping updating. Unfortunately, I can't find the time to write it fully, so it'll have to be posted after the break.**

 **However, because I didn't want to break Fanfiction's policy of no chapters being fully A/Ns, I'm giving you a little sneak peek of the next chapter. IT'S NOT THE WHOLE CHAPTER! I will be posting the full chapter once I'm finished with exams. I hope you enjoy it!**

* * *

I was washing my hands when the door swung open. Of course, with my luck, who else could it be but Drew?

Drew walked in, glancing at me coldly, before making her way to the mirror. She opened her purse and took out some mascara, and started applying it.

I was about to leave, eager to get out of there, when Drew spoke.

"I know about you and Percy."

A groan escaped my lips. Why did she have to find out? I spun round to look at her. Drew was glaring at me furiously, her lips tight, and a hand on her hip. Her dark hair was tied in a bun, and she was wearing a low cut top.

"Know what?" I asked patronizingly.

"I know you think he likes you," Drew said scornfully. "And that you're 'going out'." She said the last part in air quotes.

"So?" I asked, forcing my tone to stay casual.

"So it's adorable how you think he actually cares for you," Drew mocked. "You think he likes you?"

"Yes," I responded calmly, "I do, actually. But thanks for your help, Drew."

"He'll have dumped you soon enough," Drew warned.

"What's it to you?" I shot back. "Are you jealous?"

"Jealous?" Drew laughed. "Percy will come back to me soon enough."

So that was what this was about. Drew still wanted Percy back. "You were the one who broke up with him," I reminded her.

Drew scowled again. "Because I was making a point. That doesn't mean you can steal _my_ boyfriend."

"Your boyfriend?" I narrowed my eyes. "You're delusional."

Suddenly Drew's eyes narrowed. "You _were_ the girl in the car, weren't you? The girl Percy was with, when he should've been with me at the party?"

I wasn't about to reveal to Drew the truth. "I don't know what you're talking about," I said coldly.

Drew hissed, marching close up to me. "You're going to pay for this Chase. Your heart will get broken, soon enough. You'll see."

And without saying anything else, Drew stormed out of the restroom, leaving me stand there, thinking about what she had said.

* * *

 **Hope you enjoyed that little sneak peek :) I know it's not much, so sorry!**

 **I'm working on the next Colliding Worlds chapter, I hope to post at least one more before I go on a break for that story as well.**

 **In the meantime, I suggest you follow if you want to be alerted when I update. I can't give an exact date on when I'll go back to updating, but it's likely to be late june, so if you're not following, make sure you check back then!**


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